Square meter price for turnkey construction?

Hello,

HI! Next year we are also building a solid house with a local developer. Our experience is that prefabricated houses are more expensive than the classic brick-on-brick variant. We pay without a basement and with upscale equipment KfW 70 (conservatory, underfloor heating, air heat pump, controlled residential ventilation) per m², 1300€ for a 145m² house size. To me, 2200€ seems way too high.

Prefabricated houses "must" be more expensive than the classic brick-on-brick variant, at least when it comes to prefabricated houses that are meant to last for years; this results from the construction itself.

As for the sqm-house/house price, its amount always depends on the size of the house: smaller houses are more expensive than larger single-family houses - the technology changes only marginally with the house size.

What is repeatedly done wrong here is deriving the sqm price/house from house, standardization, and ancillary construction costs; this is neither correct nor fair to every provider, as they rarely have influence on the plot conditions or the individual’s personal taste.

For a classic, conventionally built single-family house up to 140 sqm, technically equipped with a gas condensing boiler and solar system, the sqm price generally lies between €1,300 and €1,400; below that correspondingly more, above that the sqm price decreases depending on the size of the house sometimes down to €1,000.

Everything that deviates from this has its reason either in inferior equipment/construction description or higher quality equipment/construction description, starting from the stone used and ending with the sanitary equipment. It goes without saying that caution is advised with the former variant, then "very cheap in the end always turns out to be very expensive"!

The ancillary construction costs without painting and flooring work always lie in the range of 30,000 - 35,000 euros; additional foundation costs due to the soil conditions of the plot are also not included in this amount and can quickly range between 6,000 and 10,000 euros.

Kind regards

HI! Next year we are also building a solid house with a local developer. Our experience is that prefabricated houses are more expensive than the classic brick-by-brick variant. We pay without a basement and with upscale equipment KFW 70 (winter garden, underfloor heating, air heat pump, KWLL) €1300 per m² for a 145m² house. To me, €2200 seems way too high.

Upscale equipment is relative. Unfortunately, I have experienced that the things I liked are more expensive than I thought. We had a tile price of €/m 28.00 in the contract, but they actually cost 52.00. The electrician was there, a few two-way switches here, more sockets there, intercom with camera, a few spots – bang, another €4000. Not to mention the bathrooms, you can really spend a lot of money there. My tip to all house builders: everyone knows their own standards, and if they are a bit higher, better to plan a few euros more for the house right from the start.

Hello, basically the specified sqm prices are already very high. But as everyone else has already written before, it depends on so many factors, including the region, that there is no generally valid statement.

Regarding the topic of prefab house or better timber-frame house and solid house or better wet construction, the price should not be the selection criterion. As you might recognize from this sentence, I come from the timber construction industry. Since the building preference unfortunately tends towards this wet construction for the majority of Germans, for cost reasons one should not overcome the building preference. So if you don’t tend to this “stone on stone” building feeling in a negative way, stay with this construction method. A wooden house is something different from a stone on stone house, you also have to like it.

However, I have to completely disagree with Grekko, why should a wooden house cause difficulties in extensions and conversions. The opposite is rather the case.

Have you actually ever thought about building with an architect? Of course, that costs money, but his advice is neutral and he can help you very well professionally, especially if you have water problems on your property. If he also takes over the tendering and construction management for you, he will look for suitable and inexpensive craftsmen with you through the tendering process and also take responsibility for the costs and the professionally correct execution. And it will definitely be cheaper. Consider that a prefab house builder or developer has marketing costs, commissions, administrative costs, etc. and there is easily a 20% surcharge included.

Regards Friedrich.