Is building a house becoming cheaper now?

Because the quality of life in a three-room apartment is not comparable to that in a house.

That is why the three-room bungalow is the first choice in old age, small and manageable, garden access with one step, living in and with the garden, and no annoying neighbors

I can understand both arguments. Living in a familiar environment and one's own home is a value in itself. But if you can no longer afford it, you should also pull the emergency brake while the house is not yet completely run down.

I don’t want to have to give up my house just because I’m getting older, especially after all the work I put into it

We really drift off every time in this discussion about whether grandma has to leave her house.

My grandma from the weekend: House from 1950, uninsulated. Still many single-glazed windows. Double glazing in the bathroom, bedroom, and living room. About 15 years ago, she decided that insulation wasn’t worth it and just painted it. Since grandpa’s death, nothing has been done to the house anymore.

She still heats like before with oil and a coal stove, now only the living room and bathroom due to gas costs. She doesn’t need to heat the kitchen anymore since she can hardly cook.

The house is basically cramped, winding, and equipped with many stairs.

The garden used to be sacred. She can’t manage it anymore and the “gardener” is now over 70 and can only mow the lawn. Result: flower beds are overgrown. She has now deliberately decided to let some areas lie fallow because she has fallen several times trying to work in the garden.

She only goes into town once in a blue moon and only by taxi.

What am I getting at? The house including the large garden is a big burden. In our family, we don’t talk about money, but she has a decent cushion so she can still cover the additional costs. Does the house do her any good? I don’t think so. At least it doesn’t keep her active because she can’t get out much anymore. Now it’s too late for an apartment—but if she had sold the house five years after retirement and moved in with grandpa to an age-appropriate downtown apartment, she would probably be better off.

Topic new construction: Where should the price reductions come from? Steel will get cheaper but will remain significantly more expensive than, for example, in 2019 (energy, CO2). Cement can only become more expensive due to energy costs. All fired raw materials as well. Heating technology heat pumps: the German manufacturers will now milk the cash cow, just below what we would consider extortionate. Windows: glass requires gas, also bad.

Even if we can count on LNG in 2023/2024, the price will probably always be over 10 ct/kWh and thus significantly above Russian pipeline gas. So all energy-intensive things can never fall back to the 2019 level.

We really drift off every time on this topic, whether grandma has to leave her house.

My grandma from the weekend: House from 1950, uninsulated. Still mostly single glazing. In the bathroom, bedroom, and living room double glazing. Considered 15 years ago that insulation wasn't worth it and just painted. Since grandpa's death, nothing has been done on the house anymore.

She heats as before with oil and coal stove, now only the living room and bathroom due to gas costs. She doesn't need to heat the kitchen anymore because she can no longer really cook.

The house is basically cramped, convoluted, and equipped with many stairs.

The garden used to be a sanctuary. She can't manage it anymore, and the "gardener" is now also over 70 and can only mow the lawn. Result: flowerbeds are becoming wild. She has now consciously decided to leave areas fallow because she has fallen several times trying to do garden work.

She only comes to town very rarely now and only by taxi.

What am I getting at? The house including the large garden is a great burden. In our family, we don't talk about money, but she has a decent buffer so she can still cover the additional costs. Does the house do her any good? I don't think so. It certainly doesn't keep her active either because she can't go out much anymore. Now it's too late for an apartment – but if she had sold the house five years after retirement and moved together with grandpa into a senior-friendly downtown apartment, she would probably be better off.

That's exactly how I see it too. What use is the supposed quality of life in your own house if, like someone wrote here, you can only heat certain rooms anymore or, like in your example, the garden is running wild? Honestly: that's not quality of life. Better to move into an apartment or small bungalow where I can afford the upkeep and don't have to count every penny.

I always have to smile about this typically German mindset that a property is forever and you always live in it.

I think one has to be realistic after all. Taking care of a large house alone at an old age is just a torment for many. But due to a lack of self-reflection, people continue to live there and complain about all the cleaning and weeding. Better to move into a modern, barrier-free new apartment in the city center. On the ground floor, you even have your own garden area, which is, however, mowed by the property management. That is the ideal solution. Everything is quickly accessible (supermarket, doctor, restaurants) and still with a small garden. But many cling to it compulsively and do not want to downsize in old age. That is certainly understandable on a human level and emotionally comprehensible, but it is definitely not sensible.

I think one has to be realistic after all. Taking care of a big house alone at an old age is just a torment for many. But due to a lack of self-reflection, people naturally keep living in it and complain about all the cleaning and weeding. Better to move to a modern barrier-free new apartment in the city center. On the ground floor, you even have your own garden area, which is mowed by the property management. That is the ideal solution. Everything quickly reachable (supermarket, doctor, restaurants) and still with a small garden. But many cling to it compulsively and don’t want to downsize in old age. That is certainly understandable on a human level and emotionally comprehensible, but it is definitely not sensible.

Sensible? For whom? For an outsider, objectively maybe not. For the person concerned, certainly not. Would it really be more sensible and better for the mentioned grandmother to live in a city apartment? If she wanted to, she would do it. But apparently, she does not want to. Is it bad for her to only heat a few rooms? Apparently not. Is it bad for her not to keep the house in good shape anymore? Apparently not. What she has built up, she can also let decay if she wants. And if she spends all her money on that, that’s fine too. I always have the feeling with such statements that it’s more about the inheritance that one sees fading.

I think this cannot be generalized. For one person, the city apartment is great in old age; another stays in her little house. It should not be judged.