Single-family house: Is the rate realistic? How much house can we afford?

As I understand you, you assume that any new building - regardless of size, construction method, and amount of own work - costs at least 1.1 million and that one should keep away from it if one does not earn at least €108,000 net/year (= €180,000 gross), no matter how much equity one brings in and even if one already owns developed building land in the village?

I am really cautious, calculate with a lot of buffer, and tend to be a pessimist with such things. But I consider that to be exaggerated.

And not even that shows the extent – in my opinion, the much more meaningful median value is significantly lower. According to the rule propagated here, we would now be at the limit. With 2 decent salaries, DINKs. And for 380k property in a good location from the parents, so 6.5% saved. (this is of course due to current interest rates overall) If it’s tight for us according to the rule, families with children would be ******.

First of all, thanks again for any input. I gratefully include all of it in my considerations.

Over the last 2 days, I took the time to create an overview of all expenses within a year. Not only for planning the financing, but because I always wanted to see where money quietly goes in everyday life. We were surprised by some items – for example Lieferando, expenses for gifts, etc. We also became aware again of how carefree we live (or can live), which is already a great privilege. We also found some potential for savings on the side, but that should remain irrelevant and unconsidered in the calculation for now. :)

Additionally, to work with a buffer right away, I used the expenses of the last 13.5 months as "annual expenses" and rounded up almost all positions – which makes quite a difference with hundreds of individual items. I also treated myself to an absolute luxury item last year for about €6500, which is included – meaning nothing was sugarcoated, rather calculated to our disadvantage. :)

After that, I compared the annual income (current and 2024) to the annual expenses and calculated the monthly "surplus" from that. Then I added the saved current cold rent and subtracted mobility costs of €400. According to my calculation, that would be the absolute maximum possible installment.

Of course, despite the above-mentioned buffer, one should


On the subject of mobility:
We could take over a car from the family. That means mobility costs don’t have to include purchase costs, leasing rates, or anything else, but only tax, fuel, insurance. A second car wouldn’t be necessary because there are enough unused cars in the immediate family that could be used in an "emergency," and my fiancée wants to take a remote job anyway.

A good target is 20-25 years. If you go significantly beyond that, you have little reserves in case it gets more expensive or interest rates rise for follow-up financing.

That is why we have a low rate of homeownership in Germany and it is politically not desired for it to improve.