ᐅ Buying or Searching for Land... What Is the Best Approach?

Hello everyone and good evening!

I would like to start by introducing myself as a "beginner" in the topic of house building, and I hope you’ll forgive any awkward phrasing or somewhat silly questions.

Here’s the situation:
We have been searching for a detached house for more than two years in the area around Essen, NRW.
(Mainly focusing on Kettwig, Werden, Heithausen, Ratingen, and Mülheim).
So far, we have mainly used Immoscout and Immowelt to look for "listings." After several unsuccessful house viewings and contacting over 20 real estate agents, frustration is setting in.

Since very few new houses appear in our "desired region," we have now considered building a house (...having one built).
We are currently gradually educating ourselves step by step about the topic of "house building."

The next step was to look for plots of land.
We also used the two mentioned portals for this, but disappointment quickly followed because there are very few plots available in the region on these sites, and some of them are quite expensive.

Now I would like to know if any of you can give us some tips regarding land searches and possibly some recommendations for "reliable" house building companies.
What options or websites are there to look for plots?
There are also companies on Immoscout that offer "new builds" including land, but usually these are "planned projects" and often seem less trustworthy, especially when I look at some of the contacts provided.

Or are there other ways to make our dream home a reality?

We have completed our budget planning. We are currently compiling our specification list. We already have concrete ideas about the floor plan and architecture (partly as a "floor plan draft").

Is there perhaps something like a "schedule" or "timeline" outlining what the future builder needs to do and when?

As you can see, everything is still a bit vague, but this is what I want to change with your help.

Therefore, I would appreciate any tips from you, also feel free to send me a private message if you want to share a helpful link.

Of course, I am also ready and available for any questions...

With that said, I wish you a relaxing evening and a great weekend.

Stephan