Is building a basement still justified today?

We have these 3 prefabricated garages.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Masonry garage with concrete slab, etc.

I also belong to the anti-basement faction. For my family, a basement only offers disadvantages (annoying stairs, the atmosphere is simply nicer on other floors). We don't have any basement hobbies (neither a model railway nor a large stamp collection nor a workshop nor are we hoarders ). Space was planned sufficiently everywhere it is really needed later.

A basement would only have been an option in locations where land prices are exorbitantly high or on slopes.

On the one hand, we, and by that I mean the majority of our society, need more and more space for things. More and more things find their way into our homes, which has something to do with growing prosperity but also with uncontrolled consumption. An author once wrote in a book to this effect: It is not the people who take up space in the apartment, it is primarily the things. I also have too many of those: racing bike, MTB, trekking bike, chariot, motorcycle, hunting equipment, weapons, skis, ... and too little time.

On the other hand, we consume more and more land. Every small village in our area has a new development area. We should save space and build more vertically.

Clearly, the basement is contemporary and sensible. Very unfortunate that we couldn't afford one with a budget of half a million euros.

In our current situation, a basement was omitted for cost reasons. Before I engage in lengthy discussions about pros and cons, my assessment is that each project, each user behavior, and each initial situation must be considered separately. A plot of 1000m² can compensate for the absence of a basement differently than 400m² in the big city (also in terms of cost).

Best regards, Andi

We are building without a basement. But we still have a nice sandstone cellar on the property that will not be demolished, and parts of the old tractor garage will also remain. We are not allowed to build bigger there anyway, too small for modern cars, and we don’t want a dirty hole 3 meters wide between the garage and 2 retaining walls.

I see it at my parents' and parents-in-law's places, large parts of the cellar rooms are simply just storage space, even though they have daylight and can be used as fully functional living spaces.

Building construction is cheaper than civil engineering.
When two people live together, a basement is usually not needed.
A basement is advisable, for example: on a slope, with building height restrictions, smaller plots, when there are children in the house, additional space requirements for example sauna, fitness room, hobby room, workshop. A garage should not be used as a storage room or workshop either from an approval or insurance law perspective.