New single-family house - realistic estimate of construction costs? Experiences?

I consider the size unrealistic for a single-family house. Currently, two of us live in an apartment of the size you have planned, have a basement room, and are already reaching our limits. Hobbies also involve accumulating clothes that need to be stored somewhere. Even more so with children. With three children in such a space... sure, it’s possible. But then I always ask myself: why am I building if I don’t have an improvement over my current living situation? Just the accommodation of the technology alone...

Apart from that: we are not building for the first time. When I think about it, I should have kept my first property for the rest of my life... Expectations change. Just because "when the children leave the house, we don’t need such a big house" does not mean I should limit myself that much now?! I consider that the wrong approach. But of course, you are the only ones who can ultimately judge that. But this is just a tip from a repeat offender when it comes to building and also with a few more years under my belt. At the first build, I always said, “I will never leave this place.” Yeah, yeah...

Several people have already commented on the price situation. I absolutely agree. It won’t get any cheaper. And once a plot is gone... it’s not like a used car where you can wait for the next offer.

My childhood home was about 120sqm as well. That was enough for 4 people ... BUT the house had a full basement! Without that basement ... no chance! You’d be building cells as children's rooms. Especially if you’re aiming for 3 kids, you should easily aim for 160sqm. You also need storage space. Where should the canned goods and vacuum cleaner go? The utility room is already occupied with heating, fuse box, washing machine, and dryer. Probably even a ventilation system. So you’ll end up somewhere between 140sqm and 160sqm if you don’t want to feel like fish in a can. And forget about land getting cheaper anytime soon. Nothing will be left. People have the money. For your entire project, I would also estimate between 400 and 450k €. It also depends on who you build with.

Better to add another 5k€ for a double garage. Plan 20-25k€ for the outdoor facilities. All this "we'll do it later" is just talk. Money is tight at first and not being able to properly sit outside for several summers is really annoying.

In a new development that isn't selling, I'd be skeptical. I'd look for a catch.

No, it isn't :-P That's exactly what we're doing right now. And little by little our garden is coming together. The lawn is already sprouting. Paving will be done during the year, etc. But it means you're prepared to do most of it yourself.

Hello,

we are building a similar (solid) house to what you envision. It has 135 sqm of living space, no basement, and a double garage. Apart from a ventilation system with heat recovery, we have not planned anything special. Our cost estimate from the engineer for the house including ancillary construction costs plus the land amounts to 375,000 euros. We had previously visited several general contractors who promise you the moon. Read the construction description carefully and above all have the ancillary construction costs properly assessed. We would have had to refinance a considerable amount with the offer from the general contractor.

Best regards and good luck with your decision-making

No, it isn't That's exactly what we're doing right now. And little by little, our garden is taking shape. The lawn is already sprouting. Paving will also happen during the year, etc. But that means you have to be prepared to do most of it yourself.

But that also costs money. If the financing is already at its limit beforehand, there won't be any money left afterwards to "do something yourself."

But that also costs money. If the financing is already at its limit beforehand, there will be no money left afterwards to "do something yourself."

We were financially at our limit. But lawn doesn’t cost the world and with the Christmas bonus we got the paving. As I said, you have to do a lot yourself. We spread 95 cubic meters of topsoil by hand. The soil was practically given to us by another builder. Conclusion: Whoever does not want to include their outdoor facilities in the loan calculation must know exactly what they are doing. And also be prepared to sit on a provisional terrace for the next 4 years.