ᐅ Is it possible to build a new house for €900 per square meter?

Ottowillswisse schrieb:

How can Heinz von Heiden turnkey homes be so affordable? They also want to make money. I described the features in the original post, which are already very cost-effective—I can hardly imagine a house with that specification costing 3,000€ per m².

No, it doesn’t cost that much. Town & Country, which I would say is the main competitor of Heinz von Heiden in the relevant target group, offers their Flair 152 model in a mid-priced region (for example, Hannover) starting at 1,800 EUR/m². Specifically, it’s 272,500 EUR for 152 m² (1,636 sq ft), turnkey, without custom extras.

Why it’s this affordable is simple. On one hand, these “volume builders” get much better terms from wholesalers than small local contractors because of the large quantities they order. If I go to a wholesaler to buy 10 pallets of bricks, I’ll pay one price, but if Town & Country shows up and says, “Look, I want to be your customer and buy, say, 10,000 pallets per year, give me a good price,” I get a completely different deal.

On the other hand, they can use their market power to pressure suppliers and subcontractors on prices right down to their limits. For the craftsman, this means he doesn’t have to worry much about keeping busy, though he has to accept lower profits. But that’s the usual situation. Large or regular customers who can keep workers busy for most of the year get much better prices than one-off customers. One-off customers pay significantly more...

And that’s the key difference when Heinz von Heiden comes knocking, building about 100 houses per year in the region, versus architect Willibald von Willihausen, who manages 2 to 3 houses annually. That’s just how it works.

At least for Town & Country, they have now focused on drywall construction for upper floors in their city villas. If you want masonry walls upstairs, you have to pay extra, and so on.

Finally, you have to be aware that these providers don’t include everything a buyer might want for a move-in ready house. If you just want to turn the key or completely redesign the floor plan, Heinz von Heiden and Town & Country are simply not the right choice. Custom requests are much more expensive than with other providers because individual customizations can’t be bought in large volume, and their model does not anticipate an architect radically changing the standard floor plan.

Ottowillswisse schrieb:

Hello community,

sorry for only getting back after 3 months. I recently spoke again with the builder, and he told me that he works as a mason himself and has friends in various trades. Because of that, although all work was done by professionals, his labor costs were very low, and he basically only had to pay for materials. My question is: Do you think it’s possible to build a house with owner-performed work on flooring and painting for 1,700€ per m2 of living space?

Best regards

So your neighbor clearly contributed far, far, far more owner-performed work than you can or want to. I think the 900€/m2 in some places is probably a bit optimistically calculated (it’s usually “only” x euro here and “only” x euro there, which don’t get included in the total calculation. Maybe some materials accounted for, but not what he handed directly to people, or where he helped others in return, etc. Possibly some things simply “forgotten” when adding up the costs.)

Basically, I consider your price difficult to achieve with only owner-performed work on walls and floors. That’s practically no owner-performed work at all. (Sorry to say.) The guy probably also has experience with construction processes, likely took over project management himself, etc. He probably has access to equipment or contacts to borrow from, maybe some outstanding favors owed to him. He might also be able to get leftover materials cheaply. Do you have the time and opportunity to create similar conditions? If I understand correctly, you don’t have this expertise and network and would probably have to buy everything. That’s a completely different situation.

So my assessment: For someone like me, a regular non-professional with zero trade contacts and proud just to lay 90m2 (approx. 970 sq ft) of laminate flooring “somewhat decently,” I don’t consider 1,700€/m2 realistic.

Frauke187 schrieb:

Only assistants do that at the plumber's as well.

Assistants are found with construction contractors and drywall installers, while plumbers (sanitary, heating, and air conditioning) have apprentices.

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MachsSelbst schrieb:

On the other hand, a company with significant market power can push suppliers and subcontractors’ prices down to the limit of what’s bearable. [...]
And it makes a difference when Heinz von Heiden, who builds around 100 houses a year in the region, comes knocking rather than architect Willibald von Willihausen, who manages 2 to 3 houses per year. That’s just how it works.

Well, with the esteemed Freiherr von W., they work as a well-coordinated team rather than constantly bringing in new lower-league players, payments are punctual and not pushed to the limit. Skilled craftsmen can do without the discount subcontractor exploiters. That’s how it works.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

At least with Town & Country they have now settled on drywall construction for the upper floors in their city villas. If you want masonry walls in the upper floor, it costs extra, and so on.

Those who appreciate masonry walls on the upper floor or attic as indicators of quality haven’t read my posts “Lightweight walls in solid houses?” and “Plan change: Switching from concrete ceiling to wooden ceiling” and make an easy target for big-name and semi-questionable builders.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

And finally, you need to be aware that with these providers not everything the homeowner might want in a ready-to-move-in house is included. If you just want to turn the key or completely redesign the floor plan, Heinz von Heiden and Town & Country are simply the wrong choice. Custom requests are simply more expensive there than with competitors. Because individual special requests cannot be purchased in large volumes, and it is not intended that an architect completely changes and redesigns the standard floor plan.

Both Town & Country and Gabriele’s favorite Heinz price their products so that even the target group of “ready-to-move-in” customers feel comfortable buying—but of course, these are not the same customers as for Viebrockhaus or Baufritz. Special requests in the sense of “opposition to the scope of work” are priced deterrently by all big builders—otherwise, the volume effects you described so well wouldn’t work. The “non-improvable” (meaning only minimally modifiable) is exactly the pure form of a catalog home, which is better left uncompromised. Anyone whose list of changes and alternative choices exceeds a modest three times three wishes would be better off with an independent individual design, which is usually more cost-effective than distorting a catalog home proposal. The right choice of builder or home manufacturer always starts with not looking for them in the wrong category. Hiring electric guitarists for a symphony orchestra is simply wrong from the start, like launching a boat at an airport. Their websites make it easy for customers—you just have to compare the happy building families shown with yourself, and then you know which providers fit.

mayglow schrieb:

maybe also pick up leftover materials cheaply.

Surplus tiles for the utility room. You can apply this idea to any area where there is potential.

mayglow schrieb:

possibly just “forget” some things when adding up the costs.

That is the undisputed no.1 mistake shared by most naive calculations of self-performed work and individual subcontracting dreams. No.2 is the scenario: “We can save a bit on points x, y, and z—and then treat ourselves to a few more square meters” (preferably as a double garage attached to a slab-on-grade house, using money saved on the “skipped” basement).

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Thank you for the responses. Now I am sure that a new architect-designed solid construction house is not an option for me. Regarding Heinz von Heiden, if I understand correctly, Heinz von Heiden is a good option if you are satisfied with affordable building materials and do not have (major) upgrade requests. Is this correct? Is it also possible to downgrade options? For example, with the cheapest bungalow of over 100m² (1,076 sq ft), the uncompromising B760 model, a small photovoltaic system doesn’t really make financial sense. My uncle works as a carpenter and has already offered to install the windows for me for the cost of materials plus a small fee. I don’t really need things like roller shutters either.

Ottowillswisse schrieb:

For example, with the cheapest bungalow of over 100m2 (1,076 sq ft) like the Unverbesserlichen B760, a small photovoltaic system doesn’t really make financial sense. My uncle works as a carpenter and has already offered to install the windows for me for just the cost of materials plus a small extra fee. I also don’t really need anything like roller shutters.

It’s probably doable. But if you get a credit of €1,000 for the photovoltaic system and €5,000 for the windows, investing €8,000 in the windows might not be worthwhile.