Is demolishing old buildings really that expensive?

We are still at the very beginning of our project and have now found a property in the Munich metropolitan area with an old building where the purchase price would be reasonable (if you can call it that :p). However, we have not bought it yet. We have now obtained a preliminary demolition quote. The existing demolition-worthy house from the 1950s measures about 11x8m with 2 full floors plus a basement. The quote was then €70,000, not including hazardous materials (which would be extra on top if they are present, so you can certainly expect a few thousand euros more). When I read here in the forum, I would have rather assumed half that amount. Do we really have to budget such a high sum for the demolition here?

How many companies did you inquire with?

How qualified was the tender?

In Munich, the disposal costs are very high.

I assume that the demolition costs rise and fall just like the construction costs depending on the region. And I further suspect that the reason why the purchase price for the property "halbwegs stimmt" is that the demolition costs are correspondingly high. :/

70k just for the demolition? phew, quickly throw it away and ask other companies. I have recently awarded a similar contract in Bawü for 19,000 euros. Admittedly, the contractor barely earns anything from it, but you can easily get it done for half that price including the basement.

… is possibly the basement the price driver? Most people have the house demolished, leave the basement standing, and use it again.

... is the basement possibly the price driver?
Most people have the house demolished, leave the basement standing, and use it again.

That the basement is the price driver is almost impossible. Our basement was crushed on site with a crusher, and meanwhile a shell construction company from the neighboring construction site came by and asked if they could have the rubble. I learned that the rubble is usually sold as filling material and does not end up at the landfill. That means concrete rubble from the floor slab or the foundations as well as the walls even generates a small income, provided the demolition company does not drive it around three times.

I suspect here a rip-off offer. Just 6 months ago we had a 9x10m house demolished including the basement and stripping and hazardous material handling according to TRGS519 for less than a third of the amount.

I also had two offers that were almost twice as high. Just keep getting quotes. How did I get the cheap offer? Just look in the app with the small online ads and search demolition companies within a radius of 100 km. I found a few and contacted them. There were some appointments, new offers came in, and I chose the best one for me. And the best part: the cheapest one was exactly the one whose company headquarters were the farthest away.