Why don't construction prices go down?

Since when was or is Hannover in the East? Do we now also have to question your geography knowledge? There won't be much left then.

Weren't you in Saxony-Anhalt?

Weren't you in Saxony-Anhalt?

He's there now. Doesn't mean he lived there as a child.

In our town (Western Bavaria, about 6,000 inhabitants), new apartments and properties from the developer now lie like lead on the portals. Only about half of the last major construction project has been sold so far; meanwhile, the developer is covering the realtor's fee. I'm not surprised at 5,000 euros per square meter of living space. The first apartment in the complex is now being rented out, key data: 64 m2 for 890 euros cold rent. As a tenant in the countryside, you have to be able to afford that first.

Although sales in this complex are going more than sluggishly, another developer started a project with 15 apartments last week, also for 5,000 euros per m2. Either the developers here hope for interest rates to drop soon, a money windfall, or government subsidies for vacant apartments.

I’ll say provocatively: A landlord has to be able to afford that first as well. As an investment property, it’s only interesting if a considerable increase in value is expected... and 5k per sqm is still on the cheap side for new buildings.

I’ll say provocatively: A landlord has to treat themselves to that first. As an investment property, it only makes sense if a significant increase in value is expected… and 5k/sqm is still on the cheap side for new builds.

I partly agree with you. For me, that would be too risky as a landlord. Personally, I find 5,000 euros per sqm for an apartment in the countryside expensive. Especially since that price doesn’t even include a parking space and salaries here are not at Munich levels.

I partly agree with you. For me, as a landlord, that would be too risky. Personally, I find 5,000 euros per m2 for an apartment in the countryside expensive. Especially since that price doesn’t even include a parking space and salaries here are nowhere near Munich levels.

IMHO this also has to do with the buyer group of private landlords. Until recently, people (simplified) went to the bank, took out a loan, bought an apartment, and rented it out. This buyer group somehow seems too underrepresented in the overall calculation and in current housing subsidy plans rather appears as greedy bloodsuckers from whom tenants must be protected.

Assuming I am faced with the decision whether to go through with buying an apartment. On one hand, my costs go up; on the other hand, my returns are at least endangered since the Berlin rental cap scheme, which failed spectacularly, is now being discussed nationwide.

I see the currently much-discussed weakening of the efficiency guidelines as a capitulation to the fear campaigns of populists — if I, as a buyer, pay money for an efficiently built apartment, then I get a real countervalue that yields an annual return and, incidentally, is a quality feature for the entire lifetime of the apartment. I consider weakening this the wrong step.

So, the evil landlords. As a landlord, of course, at least according to the tenants’ association, you only have one interest for decades: gentrification! Yes, I was accused of this because I dared to install a gas central heating system instead of oil individual stoves! There was an uproar back then, and when I even considered slightly (!) upgrading the house's thermal insulation, they showed up with torches and pitchforks. With the insulation, "I just want to enrich myself at their expense." Result: No renovation. In the same building, they are now complaining that heating costs are so high.

Just ask tenants what they are doing against climate change. Immediate answer number one: “I can’t do anything about the apartment; I’m just a tenant.” So: the bloodsucking landlords should urgently renovate everything now — but of course the windows must look just as nice afterward and no one wants to pay anything for it.

Now, people who have some savings and consider what to do with them say: “Pay more and get less? No thanks.” Then they simply don’t invest in the retirement-return investment apartment. Then the developer stands in front of the residential complex and no one buys the apartments; instead, the money is invested elsewhere and/or people are simply more cautious.

And regarding the comparison to Munich: Here, although it is hard to believe given the tenant poverty that actually exists in some neighborhoods (because after deducting the warm rent, there is hardly anything left for living expenses), a new record for the amortization period has been set: nowhere else do you have to rent out an apartment as long as in Munich to justify the purchase price. In the past, one calculated with a purchase price factor of 20; here we are over 40.

So all that remains is the eternal hope for eternal value increases. That worked as long as things were going well. The house pays for itself through appreciation. If now a) I can no longer fully rely on eternal appreciation and b) I am scared off by headlines like “Real estate prices fell by 10%!,” then I also lose interest in real estate.

Historically, however, our standard of living has never been as high as it is today.
When I started school in 1990, there was no traffic jam caused by parent taxis in front of the school because there was only one car per household... and that belonged to the man, who used it to drive to work. Back then, by the way, up to 45 hours per week; my father still went to the office every second Saturday.
Vacations were to the North Sea... we only took one flight trip ever, and father almost started crying because it was unbelievably expensive with four people and he was the sole breadwinner...

Interest rates will no longer rise significantly. As soon as inflation is within the target corridor, interest rates will go down again. Not back to 0%, that’s clear. But significantly below the current level.

We do argue a lot here about various topics ;-) but I have to agree here.

That was exactly the case with us too (suburb of Hanover, 1980-1995 school years). Only a few were driven (maybe 1-2 per class). The rest came on foot, by bike, or by bus. Even fewer as the kids got older. The attitude was: figure out how to get there yourself, rain is no excuse.

Working on Saturdays was still normal for many – especially when building a house.

You can also clearly see it in the area where my parents built around 1994: In the carports was one car, the parking bays on the streets were basically always empty. Now they are always full; almost every single-family house has two cars. In the mornings, it’s a disaster in front of the schools and kindergartens.