Why don't construction prices go down?

Understandable. But botching the base, if it is one, should not be taken lightly. This is not comparable to my crookedly installed door or a poorly plastered interior wall. Eventually, rain or snow will reach everywhere.

The prices for sawn timber had seen a significant increase in recent months but have been declining noticeably for weeks. Just search for lumber price chart. Currently 540 USD/1000 feet, down from 615. Do you think this development will affect construction costs, especially for wooden houses?

The prices for sawn timber have seen a significant increase over the past months, but have been declining noticeably for weeks. Just search for lumber price chart. Currently 540 USD/1000 feet, down from 615. Do you think this development will have an impact on construction costs, especially for wooden houses?

If you source the wood yourself, you can definitely benefit from something like this. I can't imagine a carpenter or prefab house manufacturer passing that on.

Whereas this should also be included as a cost basis in the calculation for carpentries and prefabricated house manufacturers. I had actually done calculations myself in mechanical engineering, and the costs were regularly updated there. Sales then always specified a contribution margin based on the calculation, and the price was determined accordingly.

Today is our presumably final negotiation appointment for our house construction. The manufacturer would like to have the signature in January, but it would be sufficient for us to wait until mid-2025, as the financing for the plot was planned accordingly. In terms of scope of services, we will do a lot of work ourselves (drywall, filling, painting) and will award most of the trades (heating, sanitary, tinsmith, screed), so that essentially the building envelope comes from the manufacturer. So far, the price has "only" depended on adjustments to the scope of services; do you have any experience with what can possibly still be expected in the end? I at least expect 2-3%, as the calculations have always been very precise so far. Thanks in advance!

We were able to negotiate a 2% discount with the shell builder. Otherwise, everything for the shell construction was according to the offer, and whether you end up with 28.5t or 28.3t of reinforcing steel doesn't really matter in the end...