How is a 400k loan financible without equity? Net equity at €4,500

I basically agree with you, but there is also a lot more stuff to play with than back then. Just think about all the technical devices that everyone now owns. PC, printer, tablets, laptop, phones etc... That adds up to a few thousand euros. And phones are used for a maximum of 2 years by many. Additionally, money is spent much faster online. Two clicks and the new clothes are there without having to get up on a Saturday afternoon. Then there are ongoing costs that did not exist back then. Netflix, Spotify, AmazonPrime etc. These are all consumer goods that did not exist back then.

knows that too, but you can't build a house with that alone..

knows that too, but you can't build a house with that alone..

True enough. But if I think about saving all these things since I was 15 years old, then one or two decades later a nice sum of equity does come together. Equity that most people today hardly have, unless they inherit or have good jobs.

5,150 € net income after suits

They even pay for your suits? Wow! (scnr)

True enough. But if I think about saving all those things since I was 15 years old, then one or two decades later a nice sum of equity certainly comes out. Equity that most people today hardly have unless they inherit or have good jobs.

The question is really whether you want to spend the years from 15 to 35 giving up everything and usually sitting at home on weekends, so that you might be able to buy a really great home in a nice location at 36. What I definitely know is that back then, with that kind of mindset, I would have been laughed at by my circle of friends.
In my twenties (2003 - 2012) I most likely left the equivalent value of a small car in bars, pubs, and discos in Kassel. In hindsight, it would definitely have been wiser not to go out every weekend, but back then no one could have predicted that real estate prices would develop the way they did starting in 2011.

That is funny. It's like with first-semester students and wannabe big shots. They infer gross income from net income. An example, just for you: Net income: €3,000 + €650 company car + €500 occupational pension + €1,000 company apartment (a few of us have that) = €5,150 net income after suits. Plus tax class IV = gross income? But it's a typical amateur mistake to try to calculate gross income from net income and compare. Well, you're just a wannabe

Company apartment, car you have to pay taxes on. It benefits the engineer but not you (pension). A positive note is the occupational pension fund. However, mine is higher.

Unfortunately, I don't have a company car but a job ticket that costs me nothing. It is then taxed at a flat rate.

Actually, you are doing your employer a favor by being so mobile on such a small net income.

They even pay for your suits? Wow!
(scnr)

Well, I don't have to wear suits anymore, they're all hipsters with high salaries.