ᐅ Architect's Fee for a Single-Family Home

We approached an architect for our building project, and he designed a great single-family house in a relatively short time. So far, there is no contract, but he intends to charge according to HOAI fee zone III at a middle rate. The estimated total cost is around €460,000 (approximately $490,000). What makes me a bit uncertain is that he recently mentioned we are "almost" 90% finished regarding the building permit / planning permission application. Based on the previous assumptions, I calculated a fee of almost €19,000 (about $20,200) gross for service phases 1-4 (using €460k divided by 1.19 and 4% additional costs in the HOAI calculator). The plans were completed in less than 10 days, so this amount seems somewhat high to me.

I would be interested to hear your opinion on this. Is that realistic? I understand that the fee is negotiable, but I lack arguments or comparison values. Among acquaintances, architect fees up to the building permit stage (for a single-family house) have been around €8,000 to €10,000 (roughly $8,500 to $10,700).

That’s exactly why the HOAI exists, right?
How long the architect takes for their services shouldn’t really matter if they charge a flat percentage of the house price and you are very satisfied with the designs.

Otherwise, you’d be penalizing really good professionals who simply do their job faster and better, while the guy who keeps you waiting for two months could end up charging even more.

PS:
Do you know the joke that ends with
“Chalk for the cross: 1 EUR. Knowing where to put the cross: 999,999 EUR.”?

Suppenkelle schrieb:

The plans were created in less than 10 days, so the fee seems a bit high to me.

I don’t think it’s overpriced. Considering that a gross daily rate in the freelance media industry is between 1500€ and 2500€, the calculation of the services is understandable.

Suppenkelle schrieb:

In my circle of acquaintances, around 8,000–10,000€ was paid to the architect up to the building permit application (single-family house).

Comparisons are often misleading.

Suppenkelle schrieb:

Great single-family house

Perhaps the houses of your acquaintances are not great, but just normally nice?

Everything else is explained by the HOAI.

The HOAI is actually intended to ensure that designers are paid fairly.

You are free to negotiate a flat fee. The architect has already shared their expectations with you.

How amazing is the house if it only costs 460,000?

Suppenkelle schrieb:

The plans were completed in less than 10 days, so the price seems a bit high to me.

You are paying solely for the final result, not the time spent.

Counterexample: You order a car with a delivery time of 6 months. Fortunately, the dealer gets the exact car that fits you 100% in just one week. Do you pay less just because it arrived earlier?
Or if the construction company finishes faster than planned —> Hey, I’ll just pay less because you only worked a short time on the house.

In this sense, the HOAI is like a price tag for a product. You can accept it or negotiate — but please do so beforehand.

Suppenkelle schrieb:

We contacted an architect for our building project, who designed a great single-family house in a relatively short time. So far, there is no contract...

I vaguely remember that a written contract is not necessarily required when you approach an architect and simply ask them to "go ahead" with something. In that case, they can quickly refer to the HOAI fee structure as a basis for calculation, which can become expensive. It is essential to clarify in the initial discussions whether the architect will provide any free drawings to demonstrate their skills and how further billing will be handled (if the project moves forward).

We spoke with four architects. Their fees for service phases 1–9 ranged from around €60,000 to €32,000, all based "on the HOAI" fee schedule.