Possibility of negotiation on price (solid house) experiences?

Hello everyone,

we have decided on a BU (Massivbau) and have received an offer for it. Next, we will have the construction description checked by the consumer advice center and if everything is okay, we want to sign a contract (which we have not received yet).

Now my question:
The offer states that these are fixed prices and that, for the sake of fairness, every customer receives the same price (yeah, yeah...).
To what extent are there still negotiation possibilities regarding the price? Where is the best place to start and what/how much is "normal"?

What were your experiences with negotiating?

Many thanks!!!

Mia

Hello Mia,

The offer states that these are fixed prices and, for the sake of fairness, every customer receives the same price (yeah, yeah...).
To what extent are there still negotiation possibilities regarding the price? Where is the best place to start and what/how much is "normal"?

If you think about it objectively, there are only two possibilities.

1. Your contractor gives you a discount above 1.5% of the construction sum, then they have already cheated you upfront in the offer. Do you still want to sign then, consumer advice or not?

2. Your contractor explains their fixed price (calculation of the pure quantities) and gives you a discount max. 1.5%. If the result from the consumer advice service still matches your expectations/your gut feeling: what then prevents you from signing the contract?

Kind regards

Thank you for the answer, construction expert.

It sounds plausible, but still, you keep hearing that there is room for negotiation – if not always on the price, then perhaps in a higher-quality feature??? Or something else that I’m not thinking of right now? Maybe someone can report on this.

Best regards!

The construction expert is basically right. Nobody is giving anything away for free, and whoever generously grants discounts of their own accord has either taken advantage of you beforehand or it comes at the expense of quality.

Since craftsmen and employees on the construction site like to gossip, you hear some inside information, and the profit margins on materials are sometimes quite fat, with profit maximization being a top priority.
But you must not forget that developers / construction companies are primarily profit-oriented businesses. They don’t work for fun, but to make money. And the supposedly large "net profit" that the construction company earns on a house, which inexperienced homeowners assume, quickly diminishes when taxes, employees, materials, subcontractors, and other operating expenses have to be paid. You can easily miscalculate with one or the other little house, especially if something goes wrong.

On the other hand, as everywhere, the saying applies here too: there’s always a little bit possible.
Maybe not to the extent as in other industries, but something is doable. However, not in the way of receiving a finished offer and then asking: "What more can be done now?". This requires a bit more negotiation skill and is also about mutual give and take.
For example, we initially had our house planned exactly according to our wishes without naming a specific limit (which was clearly defined for us). The result was, as expected, of course, way too expensive.
Gradually, we and the seller worked our way towards our price idea, adjusting floor plans and equipment.
And in the course of these adjustments, the actual negotiations evolved. That took a few days and was still very relaxed. It went back and forth quite a bit, following roughly this pattern:

Still too expensive for us. Important by the way: The house is never too expensive, but the homeowner’s budget is too limited.
They agree to remove something to reduce the price, in return they add something else, again something else can be included free of charge, etc. and so on. It’s a longer process, but in the end all parties were satisfied. We got the house we wanted and the construction company got the money it needed.