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

We have such a "plan," we said that when the first child goes to school (with desk etc.), then the house / something like that should be there. Although we still have 1.5 years, the plan is somewhat crumbling with the ongoing situation (market development and prices).
Of course, we are definitely not sure! I admire people who say there is no alternative, I want to buy a house and do it (even if with many compromises).
Here too, yes, it is a luxury problem. But I still want to solve it. I can't entirely decide to stop the property search either.

I would bet that you won’t be living in a home you own in 1.5 years. Not if you don’t significantly change your requirements. Even if you find something tomorrow, it takes many months until you move in (we sold and the buyers moved in 14 months later).

How are you searching, maybe that’s an approach? Own initiative, hire realtors, realtor networks, ads, "available" plots on Google, ...? (maybe you can tell us exactly where and what your ideas are).

I only followed the thread sporadically... the last two pages sound a bit like you're just looking for someone who says:

"I can understand, I wouldn't give up on my ideas either, keep it up, you'll find something that exactly matches your ideas."

That's really not meant in a bad way, but the reality probably looks more like this:

"Your demands regarding the location of the property are so high that it is already difficult to find anything. 1.5 years is unfortunately nothing at all. Because from finding to closing to renovating, etc., time also passes. The probability that you will find something in the remaining time is getting smaller and smaller. So when it comes to planning, I would say, you can hope to be lucky, but I would either plan to compromise regarding the location or plan not to buy a house at all."

Thank you for the honest words, but no, I don’t need sugarcoating. We know it’s difficult, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to this exchange of opinions.
Not buying is also an option. And sure, 1.5 years go by quickly.

Here too, yes, it is a luxury problem. But I still want to solve it. I also cannot completely decide to just give up on the property search.

In my assessment, it also matters how well you and your family can handle states of tension. Some people cope very well with states of tension, others do not.

In my assessment, it also matters how well you and your family can handle states of tension. Some people cope very well with states of tension, others do not.

Also a very good point that my wife and I have already discussed. It takes strength, time, and nerves. We are, as they say, very active in the search (waiting for a realtor or a public offer makes no sense at all)

I can definitely understand the thoughts behind it. It's basically a trade-off between: can your criteria possibly be relaxed in some places (e.g. expanding the "desired locations") or is it simply okay if it just takes longer or maybe doesn't work out at all. (And where you stand on that can still shift over time....) Yes, of course, if in the end you decide not to build at all, you could have invested the money differently. But I suspect you won’t become poor anyway, even if you miss out on a few price increases ;)

You should have actually found something by now. It will never be perfect. Now it is suddenly 30-40% more expensive. You should have already “taken” this increase. Back then it was already surreal to you. The equity should now be higher. In prime locations it only works with top income. It won’t get cheaper that quickly. There are plenty of current threads about this as well.

If I remember correctly, the OP was searching in a smaller major city in Lower Saxony. And like almost everywhere today, ALL locations are prime locations for brokers, sellers, and developers. Differences are marginal, except maybe in the truly top locations of the region. The same applies to the respective surrounding area. Finding something in the mentioned time frame is simply not feasible, since he is ultimately not searching alone, and in 2020 the pool of potential buyers for normal houses was still significantly larger than today. And when you find something great, you also have to be lucky. There are always 3-10 people with you in the final round. Absolutely nobody knows where this is headed. Maybe the world will look completely different tomorrow if the money doesn’t flow. Currently, we have interest rates from 2015, or actually from 2014 already. Household incomes will now come under considerable pressure, and whether the state can continue to be as generous as before, given a transformative task of 10-15 years that now has to be accomplished in 2-3 years?? In the existing stock, only the category of very new houses remains really interesting. Renovations are okay, but extensive refurbishments and conversions to bring settlement houses up to 2022 standards will hardly pay off and are as risky as new builds. Whether municipalities can develop their building areas as planned is the next question. Listings stay on the portals noticeably longer, some brokers still try price balloons upwards, but often, especially with renovation houses, it takes months, and prices are also falling. Suddenly, even €60,000 are gone.. Overall, you basically have to keep looking for opportunities and not let yourself go crazy (FOMO). Whoever wants and needs a house at all costs will just go to the sticks if necessary. If you don’t want that and want to stay in the place, you have to keep waiting & searching. Times change. In the next 2-3 years, many of the financings from the beginning of the boom will be 10 years old. It remains to be seen where the interest rates, prices & incomes will be then.