We have now decided to start building a house from autumn 2019, even though personally I would have much preferred to buy. On one hand, I’m happy that our long-held plans are finally coming to fruition; on the other hand, I’m currently frustrated that we spent 5 years searching in vain – 5 years of rent payments at 600 euros per month (about $650 USD) times 12 months times 5 years equals 36,000 euros (about $39,000 USD)… money we could have already paid toward a mortgage.
My parents had their mortgage paid off by age 50. According to our repayment plan, I expect to be in my early 60s when we finish.
We posted several ads, told everyone we know, left notes in mailboxes of vacant properties, and kept our eyes open everywhere… all ultimately futile. We could have bought something in November 2017 but were outbid at the last moment by about 10,000 euros (around $11,000 USD). That was not worth it to us, especially since the agent was also asking for a commission. That’s life…
One real estate agent told us that interesting properties sometimes have to be marked inactive within an hour after listing because the phone won’t stop ringing otherwise.
About 95% of the viewings we did turned out to be disappointments: mold, water damage, kilos of pigeon droppings in the attic, awkward floor plans, very old electrical installations, filthy bathrooms, no mobile reception, slow internet, impending road and sewer construction of 1.5 years duration with cost repartition, paint shops, and noisy neighbors like arcades, and so on.
Supposedly, half villages are empty here in northern Hesse and many houses are waiting for buyers. But I really don’t see that, except for some dilapidated half-timbered houses on main roads.
This year, our patience ran out because I don’t believe anything will change in the next 5 years either.
How long did it take for you? Or did you skip the “fun” and decide to build right away? I’d be glad to read about your experiences.
Have a great weekend!
My parents had their mortgage paid off by age 50. According to our repayment plan, I expect to be in my early 60s when we finish.
We posted several ads, told everyone we know, left notes in mailboxes of vacant properties, and kept our eyes open everywhere… all ultimately futile. We could have bought something in November 2017 but were outbid at the last moment by about 10,000 euros (around $11,000 USD). That was not worth it to us, especially since the agent was also asking for a commission. That’s life…
One real estate agent told us that interesting properties sometimes have to be marked inactive within an hour after listing because the phone won’t stop ringing otherwise.
About 95% of the viewings we did turned out to be disappointments: mold, water damage, kilos of pigeon droppings in the attic, awkward floor plans, very old electrical installations, filthy bathrooms, no mobile reception, slow internet, impending road and sewer construction of 1.5 years duration with cost repartition, paint shops, and noisy neighbors like arcades, and so on.
Supposedly, half villages are empty here in northern Hesse and many houses are waiting for buyers. But I really don’t see that, except for some dilapidated half-timbered houses on main roads.
This year, our patience ran out because I don’t believe anything will change in the next 5 years either.
How long did it take for you? Or did you skip the “fun” and decide to build right away? I’d be glad to read about your experiences.
Have a great weekend!
Be patient, the stock market will soon crash, and real estate prices will drop as well. People will blame Trump, Putin, China, Brexit, but the truth is that everything is overpriced. There are no workers, no available capacity, plenty of money, but too few goods and services. I’m not talking about butter, coffee, or dishwashers, but even with furniture it starts: a table takes 12 weeks to be delivered, windows, reinforcing steel, aerated concrete blocks are scarce, as are heating systems, faucets, and so on. When the time comes and banks are still pushing mutual fund packages on people on World Savings Day, it will be clear that the turning point is near. Stay calm, building will soon become affordable again. Karsten
montessalet1 Dec 2018 18:35Nordlys schrieb:
Be patient, the stock market will soon drop, and property prices will decrease as well.... Stay calm, building will become affordable again soon. Karsten Stocks might fall. Property prices—at least in urban areas—really don’t. Dreaming won’t help with that.
Anyone who waits for prices to get cheaper will never buy anything.
montessalet schrieb:
Those who wait for prices to drop will never buy anything. That may be true, but those who rush to buy out of fear are also driving prices up – which ultimately affects themselves.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Guys, let’s be realistic. When has there ever been a market that only goes uphill? Never.
Right now, commercial construction, civil engineering, multi-family housing, as well as single-family home building, renovation, and refurbishment are all booming. Everything. And every price is accepted because the idea is that tomorrow it will be more expensive. Value increase as an automatic process.
If the stock market crashes, money disappears. A portfolio worth one million then might only be worth 500,000. That already creates some relief on the demand side. Especially condominiums are being bought as "concrete gold" by stock market investors who don’t know what to do with their profits. At the moment, they pay almost any price. A crash also creates relief in commercial construction; companies will consolidate first instead of building new facilities. The single-family home market is limited, not endlessly expandable, because land is scarce. Therefore, companies will once again compete for the limited projects, and materials like bricks and cement will become cheaper, and so on. It doesn’t have to lead to a real estate crash because Germans typically finance with fixed interest rates, but a trend reversal could happen.
Right now, commercial construction, civil engineering, multi-family housing, as well as single-family home building, renovation, and refurbishment are all booming. Everything. And every price is accepted because the idea is that tomorrow it will be more expensive. Value increase as an automatic process.
If the stock market crashes, money disappears. A portfolio worth one million then might only be worth 500,000. That already creates some relief on the demand side. Especially condominiums are being bought as "concrete gold" by stock market investors who don’t know what to do with their profits. At the moment, they pay almost any price. A crash also creates relief in commercial construction; companies will consolidate first instead of building new facilities. The single-family home market is limited, not endlessly expandable, because land is scarce. Therefore, companies will once again compete for the limited projects, and materials like bricks and cement will become cheaper, and so on. It doesn’t have to lead to a real estate crash because Germans typically finance with fixed interest rates, but a trend reversal could happen.
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