ᐅ New Standards in New Construction and Their Impact on Us

Hello everyone,

A quick question for you: What do you think about the new standards for new construction and what they might mean for all of us? It seems that the requirements for new buildings are increasing significantly. Policymakers are placing more emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability, which of course also has an impact on construction costs. This could have considerable consequences for many of us who are thinking about building a new house or purchasing a property. On one hand, it’s good that we are building in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way, but on the other hand, this might also push property prices even higher. What are your thoughts on this? How do you think these new standards will affect the real estate market, and should we as future homeowners or buyers pay attention to anything in particular?

Looking forward to your opinions! 😉

cartman00 schrieb:

What do you think about the new standards for new construction and what they could mean for all of us?

A significant reduction in construction costs, what else? However, this will mainly affect multi-story residential buildings.

I read in an article today about possible construction cost reductions of up to €1,000 per square meter (about $93 per square foot). But there is still a long way to go before these regulations are legally established.

nordanney schrieb:

Significant reduction in construction costs, what else? But this will mainly affect multi-family residential buildings.

Today I read an article mentioning construction cost reductions of up to €1,000 per square meter (approximately $93 per square foot). However, it is still a long way until these regulations are legally established.

Exactly, I read a similar article in a major German online newspaper. It mostly focused on cooperative housing projects or larger residential developments financed by investors, especially in social housing. The idea is that by lowering building standards that are not critical to safety, the attractiveness of these projects can be increased through considerable cost reductions. This is expected to boost new housing construction, particularly in the lower-rent segment.

I’m not very familiar with the real estate market, and I think there are participants here with much deeper insight. But at least to me, it seems that technical standards or building regulations for new construction will probably stagnate or not be raised further in the medium to long term. It is very likely necessary to differentiate between the mostly private single-family housing sector and the multi-family housing projects carried out by professional investors. However, I see no reason for the somewhat pessimistic tone implied between the lines in the first post of this thread. As we have seen with the building energy law (Gebäudeenergiegesetz), things are rarely as drastic as predicted, to put it simply. I personally don’t know a single family that is now on the brink of ruin because of this law, although of course my personal experience is only anecdotal.

Reducing Construction Costs: The most effective way to lower building costs is to come back to reality first. Many have clearly fallen victim to a certain megalomania. In times of low interest rates, bigger always seemed better.

If you look through the relevant forums, nothing could be good enough either. A fingerprint lock for the front door, a cooking island, and so on—all, of course, on a correspondingly large scale, including a kitchen costing 20,000 euros (and more). But when it came to investing even 2,000 euros (which is not even the cost of one square meter (10.8 square feet) of living space!) to save heating costs in the long term, everyone cried out about insulation mania, restrictions, nonsense, and so on...

On the other hand, I am currently witnessing pure madness: a single-family house with photovoltaic panels, heat pump, and wallbox charger—the utility provider demands 3 meter slots plus 2 power distribution units. You can easily look up how much such equipment costs for a single-family house!

Rübe1 schrieb:

On the other hand, I’m currently experiencing complete madness: single-family house, photovoltaic system, heat pump, wallbox charger—the utility company requires 3 meter slots plus 2 TSG units for that. You can just look up how much such a device costs for a single-family house (!!)...

We had the same situation—and it was eventually reduced to a single meter with two directions (bidirectional).

In our case, it depended on our billing preferences—and we quickly argued in favor of “let’s forget it.” We would have had to buy electricity quite cheaply for a long time for it to pay off.

In the end, we went with just the one meter since the electric car is only charged during the summer anyway, and the photovoltaic system supplies the rest as best as it can throughout the year. The remaining electricity consumption is then covered by the “general electricity” supply.

Asuni schrieb:

Although this mainly concerned cooperative housing projects or larger residential developments financed by investors, especially in social housing, with regard to the lowering of building standards,

Yep.
For example, the thickness of the concrete slab (soundproofing), number of electrical outlets, reducing the bathroom temperature from 24°C (75°F) to 20°C (68°F) (saving on wall-mounted heaters), wooden floor structures without screed, and other points. Deviations from common construction practices are not necessarily a construction defect.
These are the main areas.