Build a house or buy a house? All advantages and disadvantages at a glance

The decision between building a house and buying a house is undoubtedly far-reaching and not easy. The most important aspects from which the advantages and disadvantages of building a house and buying a house arise are: the freedom of design with regard to one’s own wishes, the energy efficiency with which costs can be saved, the stability of value, but also the costs and time required. Get comprehensive information about all the pros and cons of building and buying a house in this article.

Advantages in the construction of houses

Freedom of design in the construction of the house

When building a house, you can either plan it yourself from scratch or add your personal ideas to the construction plans of prefabricated houses or houses from developers. Anyone who builds a house decides for themselves on the plot of land, type of house, floor plan, building material, roof shape, room layout, extras, energy standard, building services and the interior fittings. The only restrictions are the budget of your building project and the building regulations (e.g. development plan), compliance with which is checked by the responsible building authority.

With model and prefabricated houses, there is less freedom of design. Nevertheless, the client can also realize his own ideas or change requests here. These variants are significantly cheaper than a house designed in collaboration with an architect himself. Because with prefabricated houses, the planning and construction time is reduced to a minimum. Read more about the different types of houseshere.

Save costs and realize your own wishes with the right expansion stage

When building a house, there are offers with different levels of expansion. It doesn’t always have to be a turnkey house where everything is ready to move in. If you want to take on certain parts of the interior work yourself (e.g. painting, floors and bathrooms) and implement your own personal design ideas in the interior work, you can save considerable costs at the same time. However, this requires craftsmanship and time. The possibility of choosing the stage of development in the construction of the house itself is an advantage over buying a house. For buyers of a property are forced to take over the interior. In this article you will learn about the different stages of expansion, what work has to be done yourself and how this can save costs.

Save costs through energy efficiency and the latest building technology

The builder decides for himself which ecological claim and energy standard he wants to realize. This is an advantage over buying a house, where outdated heating and building technology has to be taken over. This often results in very high energy or renovation costs over the years. In contrast, builders can even go beyond the legal requirements for energy efficiency in new buildings and achieve even better energy values. The key factors here are modern heating technology, ventilation systems with heat recovery, insulation technology, windows and doors, and building materials. However, highly efficient construction technology can also lead to higher costs when building a house. But these costs are not lost: they allow high savings of e.g. heating costs – of course, costs and benefits can be calculated in advance. In addition, there are state Funding opportunities from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). Here you can learn more about the different energy standards.

Stability of value and favorable construction loans

Building a house is a major financial challenge. But the capital is well invested: Because the construction of a house is always a good investment in view of the high stability of value. But even builders who think first and foremost of their own home when building a house and not of a credit investment benefit from this. This is because a high resale value can be expected in the long term. The market shows that the demand for real estate is constantly increasing. By the way, you can sell your new building tax-free after only 10 years.

In addition, at the moment construction loans are very favorable. The low interest rate policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) is working in favor of builders. So it is an exceedingly good time to start building a house. If you’ve ever thought about building a house as an investment for retirement, you’ll find more information in this article.

The dream of building a house

Building a house is nothing less than a fascination. This argument stands a bit apart from the hard facts around financial calculation, design freedom and general effort. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to be involved in the construction of a house from the very beginning. You will never forget such moments as laying the foundation stone and topping out ceremony!

Last but not least, the fascination also lies in the challenge. When building a house, you have to deal with a lot of details. This then also leads to being very familiar with your own house. Once everything has been mastered, the feeling of moving into your own home can’t be beat. From our many years of experience, we know that professional advice helps enormously in tackling this challenge.

Here you can find the Steinert family’s construction diary, which illustrates the entire building process.

Advantages when buying a house

Cost of buying a house lower than building a house

In terms of the size of the living space, buying a house is cheaper than building a house. Of course, there are large price differences from region to region. An apartment in the center of Munich can be more expensive than building a house in Brandenburg. However, if one assumes proportionality in terms of region, size and amenities, the purchase of an existing property is the more favorable option. In question here are single-family house, semi-detached house, terraced house and apartment.

Choice and comparison options when buying a house

Anyone looking to buy a home will come across a wide selection of existing properties. A limiting factor, however, is that the type, frequency and price of the offers vary from region to region. So they always have to look at what’s available in their preferred region. If the properties on offer there may only meet your expectations to a limited extent, you must be prepared to compromise.

It is advantageous to be able to inspect existing properties before you buy. Prospective buyers can therefore better assess the conditions of a house or apartment (also with regard to interior fittings) and compare different properties. In the case of house construction, this is only guaranteed in some cases by sample or reference buildings, otherwise one has to resort to a virtual inspection.

When buying a house, the planning and construction phase is omitted

Buying a house, you do not have to deal with the details of the construction of the house. Anyone who builds a house, on the other hand, has to vouch for the project from A to Z. Decisions regarding house type, construction method and building partner are then pending. In addition, builders who are building for the first time are not familiar with all the aspects and risks that await them. In addition, if the calculation is inadequate, the costs do not always remain within the range of the offer. In addition, the entire design and construction process usually takes more time than finding and buying a property. Buying an existing property then often seems like the easier route. However, you can take advantage of the many consulting services available for new construction.

Central residential location better realizable with existing properties

Those who aspire to live as centrally as possible in the city often have to refrain from building a house. In many cities, there is hardly any affordable building land for house construction. It is true that one could buy a centrally located existing property and demolish it in order to be able to redevelop the site. Only, of course, this is rarely affordable. In central residential areas, buying an apartment is therefore often the only option.

Advantages and disadvantages at a glance

Autorin Sarah Völkl

Sarah Völkl hat Architektur studiert und ist seit Jahren das Gesicht von a better place. Mit ihren Videos ist sie bei YouTube vielen Personen schon länger bekannt. Sarah teilt Ihr Wissen jetzt auch bei den Bautipps von Almondia.