Is building a house on a low budget still possible with the current prices?

Hello everyone,

we want to fulfill the dream of owning our own home, but we have serious concerns about whether it is even feasible with our budget and income. Maybe you have experience and can give us some tips.

About us:
Me, 35 years old, mechanical engineer,
My wife, 32 years old, pharmacist, currently on parental leave
Erik, 2 months old, so far only a milk lover :)

We can get a 600 sqm plot cheaply from the municipality (90,000 €, fully developed). We can pay for this entirely with our own labor.

Now, of course, we would like to build a little house on the plot. Our ideal idea would be:

- Single-family house with a gable roof
- 1.5 - 2 stories
- 130 - 150 sqm
- Room layout:
Ground floor: hall, kitchen (maybe with pantry), living room, utility room, guest bathroom, guest room
Upper floor: bedroom (possibly with walk-in closet), 2 x children’s rooms, bathroom, small storage room
- Outdoor facilities: terrace, double garage, cistern

Whether it’s solid construction, prefabricated house in solid or timber construction is up for debate for now. We are completely open.

The available budget for everything (house, incidental construction costs, outdoor facilities) amounts to about 450,000 €. After consulting with our house banks, we can manage this sum. It is taken into account that my wife is currently on parental leave, will definitely work part-time afterward, and maybe a second child could come along.

What is your assessment? Is it even possible to build a little house with the tight budget given current prices?

Own labor is possible; we are also skilled craftsmen. However, we have never built a house and are, of course, quite inexperienced in this area, and my wife is very limited in time due to the child. My father-in-law is an electrician and will retire in the coming months. He could therefore provide support accordingly. My father is a civil engineer specializing in road construction and built my parents’ house completely on his own 30 years ago but can only support in a limited way due to his age.

We would gladly like to hear your assessments before we buy the plot and then realize that it’s only enough for a garden shed ;)

Many thanks and best regards
Björn

In our development area, the new houses are currently being sold for 470k without land. So, these are the construction costs of a regional general contractor. Area OWL, in NRW. 130 sqm, similar requirements as with you, including outdoor facilities. However, with a carport and flat roof. KFW55 EE.

I think you can get a house for that money if you look around a bit and find a good general contractor. You will probably have to make some compromises (e.g., no garage), but it’s already good that you have an electrician on hand. You can save a lot there. If you are handy, you can also build a carport yourself afterwards. For fittings & kitchen, I would plan around 30k€. Definitely separate the land purchase from the house construction, otherwise you will have to pay property transfer tax on both.

Get some offers from regional providers, then you will already be a good deal wiser. Often they have show houses where they can tell you the price directly. Make sure the contract is a fixed price and that this is fixed for at least 12 months. Especially with all the current crises, that is worth its weight in gold.

The available budget for everything (house, ancillary building costs, outdoor facilities) amounts to about €450,000.

With that, you can build a house and also create a garden with your own work. Luxury items like a double garage are rather not possible, and in terms of providers, you will probably be moving at the lower end of the price spectrum. Your room layout is quite decent for the house size, especially on the ground floor. You will quickly end up with a 35 sqm multi-purpose room. Here I would replace the pantry with 1-2 tall cabinets and put the beer crates in a corner of the utility room. Either remove the guest room entirely or move it to the upper floor.

That depends on where in BY it is.

Thanks already for your first assessment. That reassures us a bit. Yes, the listed wishes are wishes ;) . That we will certainly have to make compromises, for example with the garage, was unfortunately already clear to us. The plot is located in Pommersfelden, near Erlangen. We have also been to the Fertighauswelt Heßdorf once and looked around a bit and collected a few catalogs to compare floor plans. But they were all nationwide providers. The Fertigmassiv ICON houses from Dennert Massivhaus also sound interesting. It is quite close to us. However, we would also have to inquire about the prices here.

You can also arrange financing with 1% repayment, but with 4% interest that still amounts to almost 2000.-/month. I would buy the plot of land and then use the time until the building obligation. First, you can continue to save, construction prices have stabilized, and the legal requirements are clearer.