ᐅ New Construction in North Rhine-Westphalia: Status of Construction Costs and Skilled Trades in 2024

Hi, we are currently facing a tough decision – whether to build ourselves or not. Ideally, we would like to build our own home, but most of our friends and acquaintances advise against it. Their main concerns are the "uncertain" situation regarding building materials and the "shortage of skilled workers." None of them work in the construction industry, so their opinions should be taken with some caution. Since we also have little experience so far and the next step would be to consult an architect, we would like to hear your opinions. Is the situation really "that bad"? An architect should have good contacts with construction companies, and with proper planning, major delays should be largely avoidable. What do you think?

I would say that the current situation is the best it has been in a long time. Materials are available again, and gradually some tradespeople are becoming available as well. The last couple of years were definitely more challenging. Prices are still high, and interest rates are also higher compared to two years ago, so building needs to be affordable. In the medium term, however, I don’t expect to see significant drops in costs or mortgage rates down to 1-2%.

Regarding planning... good planning combined with some stockpiling can help mitigate many issues. The real question is whether your architect or builder is among the good planners.

StefanC schrieb:

We would actually like to build ourselves, but most of our friends and acquaintances advise against it; the main reasons given are the "uncertain" situation with building materials and the "shortage of skilled workers."

And you think a construction company (often working with many subcontractors) doesn’t have the same problems? They’re all just human.

However, in the currently much more relaxed situation (many tradespeople are urgently looking for jobs and raw material prices have come down significantly), I don’t see self-building (which I assume means hiring an architect and tendering the trades separately) as problematic, at least not in terms of costs and offers from tradespeople.

StefanC schrieb:

Actually, an architect should have good contacts with construction companies, and with good planning, significant delays should more or less be avoided. Or what do you think?

A good architect has contacts. But as I said, they’re all just human, and no one offers friend prices. At best, fair prices and some assurance that the work is done well if the architect frequently works with those companies.

Good planning has helped in the past as well. I generally don’t see major delays anymore.

StefanC schrieb:

Hi, we are currently facing the tough decision of whether to build ourselves or not. We would actually like to build ourselves, but most of our friends and acquaintances advise against it;

You will face even bigger challenges: the less your friends and acquaintances know about building, the more opinionated they will become in recommending for or against certain construction methods or materials. An independent, non-sales consultant can be very helpful in this regard. I am one myself, and there are quite a few like me. Architects are also a good choice for this task, and/or a consultant can already guide you to an architect. But who are you exactly: a couple or a family with children, landowners or still searching for a plot?

StefanC schrieb:

Actually, an architect should have good contacts with construction companies, and with solid planning, severe delays should more or less be avoided.

An architect (from the area near the building site) knows the local contractors well and also understands which combination forms a good team. The project schedule is prepared by the architect before the tender process.

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Everyone has a slightly different perspective.
Whether you can afford to build—that is, whether your financial resources are sufficient—is determined by your bank balance, your income, your bank, as well as land and house prices. All of this should be carefully calculated. If the numbers add up, you can build independently.
An architect or architect-designed house can provide considerably more for your money if you want a higher-end home. That’s where an architect really shines. If you want planning certainty without much fuss or exotic features, in my opinion, a general contractor still scores best.

jens.knoedel schrieb:

And you think that a construction company (often working with many subcontractors) doesn’t have the same problems? They’re all just cooking with water.

He doesn’t say that at all. He never mentioned a construction company. Many people facing house building for the first time are not even familiar with the term general contractor or construction companies that work with subcontractors.

StefanC schrieb:

Actually, an architect should have good contacts with construction companies

They do. But that doesn’t make building a house cheaper; rather, it tends to reduce construction errors and defects.

jens.knoedel schrieb:

But as I said, they’re all just cooking with water

Because vitamin B (connections) is water-soluble

jens.knoedel schrieb:

and no one can offer friends-and-family prices.

Exactly.

StefanC schrieb:

With good planning, major delays should be largely avoidable.

I’ll put it this way: on average, an architect-designed house takes longer than a turnkey house from a general contractor (regardless of Covid-19 and supply shortages, this has always been the case) and can easily end up about 20% over budget, mainly because prices change, you pay rent longer, and you enter the interest-on-readiness payment phase. In return, you get higher quality at more transparent prices.

We took an architect’s design to a local general contractor who works exclusively with local companies. Everyone knows each other, and no one can afford to deliver poor workmanship. We moved in 1.5 years ago and had total costs that, judging by many comments here in the forum, at most would cover a very basic structure (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration). I would do it the same way again. If you can afford the interest rates, the situation is quite good in my opinion right now. The current subsidies are also fairly generous.