Is buying a house sensible in the current market situation?!

Are Dr. Klein and Interhyp always free of charge?

Sort of. The consultation is always free of charge. However, the commission for the brokers is always included in the terms of your loan. So not free, but you won’t receive a bill.

If you have the money for a house with a garden or can get it financed, then from my point of view there is nothing against the purchase, especially with a child. What else would you like to do with your money? It is possible that you might experience a real estate bubble at some point over the next few decades, but that will then also reverse itself.

I have not read here that building your own house is a matter close to your heart. There is also no urgency to act. Much revolves around finances. Therefore, my assessment: Continue to rent and invest your money in garages in a location with a shortage of parking spaces. The investment is scalable, the tenants are simple, there is no protection against eviction, a loss of rent is not a disaster with several garages, no complicated utility cost statements, the return is high and the value development is low risk.

Yes, I have to agree with Hampshire on that. Ownership, especially a house but also an apartment, I would never consider as a "normal wealthy" private person solely from the perspective of a "profitable investment," because it is less so than many think and, unlike the above-mentioned parking space and/or any kind of investment in the stock market, has some disadvantages. However, this must also be said for the sake of completeness: with reasonable calculations and a good property in a good location, it is also not a mistake. If you want to play it safe, you calculate your financial framework so reasonably that, in addition to maintaining the property, you also service an ETF portfolio; these two things do not exclude each other.

But ownership is not only that. For me – and I can only speak for myself – it is above all a feeling of life. It is simply a difference whether I live in a property that "belongs" to me and only the community’s development plan and above all my wallet set a limit to implementing my design wishes. You are literally your own master and owe no one (except the development plan, the applicable legal situation, and the wallet, maybe also the neighbor) an account of what you do or do not do. No landlord, for example, dictates whether and if so how the bathroom is tiled anew or not. Of course, you are also responsible for everything yourself – maintenance, repairs, compliance with legal and municipal requirements. But if you have calculated reasonably, that is not a problem.

The conclusion of my hopefully not too confusing post is therefore --> yes, it is important to calculate reasonably and thoroughly and to think about whether a particular property is a worthwhile investment in itself or not, but not only that. Owning property is also a feeling of life and a personal value. Whoever cannot understand this will also be completely happy in a rented property, investing in the stock market or spending their money, and that is totally fine.

Buying or building a house is also a big risk. A lot can and often does go wrong, you may need strong nerves, and quite a few were financially completely ruined afterward. But as always, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I accidentally read an article yesterday that was about inflation. It included a graphic showing what the euro is still worth compared to the day it was introduced. General living expenses: 30% less, real estate: 50% less. So this is the price increase over the last 20 years: the price has (on average) doubled. And the curve was (almost) linear!! That means the price development of real estate was steady and only in one direction: upwards.

Therefore, I would indeed think that rising prices can also be expected in the future, at least in thriving areas. Of course, in the countryside in the middle of nowhere, there are certainly regions where this does not apply.
With the TE, it seems to be such a well-sought-after region after all. He may consider the prices crazy, but as he himself correctly writes: it is still paid. There is not much more to say about it; if someone comes up with the asked price, then real estate is just that expensive.

I find very important what wrote a few posts ago: surely many tenants would not spend as much money on living as in their own house. However, they also have less living quality for that - renting an equivalent house will hardly be cheaper than paying the installment. But many find means and ways to give the "saved" money back to people and end up with "not much" in the end. Personally, I am currently experiencing the "forced savings effect" quite clearly. My project was absolutely at the limit of what I could stand, and now I have to be a bit careful with money (so I am not starving, don’t get me wrong, but I also can’t throw money around arbitrarily). If I had continued renting, I would work less (ok, that would be a real gain in quality of life, even though I really like my work), so I would earn less, and I would have a few more expenses here and there that I now consciously do not allow myself. A similar fortune as with my single-family house (which stands in a thriving small big city) would in any case be absolutely not in sight as a tenant.