How long have you been saving equity for your house?

I have saved for about 15 years. But also 100% equity without a bank breathing down my neck.. You never know how things will turn out. My old man sold me the plot for €5 / m² less than the local going rate....

Wow, I didn’t expect so much feedback :) Interesting that it is actually quite different in some parts. In financing threads, people with little equity capital tend to get criticized (with quite justified concerns), but here it is rather mixed (even though the tendency here also seems to be towards more equity/saving frugally, that’s my impression).

For the sake of completeness, here’s our current status: We are 29/30 and relatively new to our jobs (2 years/0.5 years). We have no debts at all, but currently also little other capital (around ~20k), and we are currently putting aside about 1k/month for the house with more or less entry-level salary (~4.5k net) (there are also a few other savings pots which, if building/buying a house really became urgent, we might possibly reevaluate... at the moment they tend to get fuller rather than emptier, but it’s still quite new that we are even able to save).

Especially regarding the house, it feels a bit like fighting windmills, but currently we don’t want to build/buy yet. As mentioned at the beginning, the plan is more like “maybe in 5 years.” At the moment, it’s all just speculation and veeeery rough orientation. (Do we really want this? Is it realistic? And “wow, this is all so expensive”) Although I have also wondered, “what do we actually do if next year we find THAT plot (and there might be an obligation to build on it within a short time)” (The preliminary plan is different, but things always turn out differently than you think).

I definitely find the experiences here very interesting to read!

Never saved much. But the little I had was invested in [Neuer Markt] in the years 1999-2000 and diligently subscribed to new issues. There is still enough money left from that today! There was also a lot of luck involved. I always thought it was a bubble and would burst at some point. Sold consistently and well. Later, my career took me into the stock business and I am still in it today!!

For us, until the mid/late twenties, it really didn’t look like we would ever have enough money to build a house. With our average salaries, no matter how much we tried to save back then, it would never have worked out. We had mentally accepted living in the city renting and eventually taking over the row house of the parents-in-law in the commuter belt. After we both changed employers, our careers and salaries improved. At 28, we went to the bank for advice for the first time. At 33, we almost bought an existing property. Then at 35, it was enough for the house construction.

This is one of those threads that as a normal person you really shouldn't read, because otherwise you start getting complexes here and there again. The pinnacle is, of course, a savings sum of 300k in 6 years, so just 50k (!!) per year. We, as a small family, have that (or a bit more) as household income for the entire year and we're happy if we manage to save 20k per year. Given the development of real estate/construction prices, however, that's unfortunately just a drop in the ocean. My conclusion: saving actually isn't worth it (anymore). Better to buy directly and just hope that the development continues at least somewhat similarly for a few more years.

This is one of those threads that as a regular person you really shouldn’t read, because otherwise you end up developing complexes here and there. The peak, of course, is a savings amount of 300k in 6 years, which is just 50k (!!) per year. That (or a little more) is the household income we have available as a small family for the entire year, and we’re happy if we manage to save 20k per year. Given the development of real estate/construction prices, however, that is unfortunately just a drop in the bucket. My conclusion: saving actually isn’t worth it (anymore). Better to buy directly and just hope that the trend continues roughly the same for a few more years.

We also consider ourselves regular people, with around 80k€ net p.a. However, this is also the first time as of July this year. It really depends incredibly on the place of residence and professional opportunities. We have now decided on building without equity, with financing consisting of a total of 5 components, which we can then service very flexibly. With a rate of 1500€, you can live well AND save. But we are both permanently tenured civil servants at an A13 level. That really makes the negotiating basis sensible.