4 ms·

Land is expensive in the US as well depending on where you live. However, building construction techniques are different in the US, which brings down costs trem

Land is expensive in the US as well depending on where you live. However, building construction techniques are different in the US, which brings down costs tremendously. In the US, newer residential homes are mostly wooden, "stick built" (even apartments!) buildings which go up in the matter of a few months. Bricks are even used as siding facades instead of structural support. In Germany, buildings are constructed with a limestone/sand/brick masonry mixture, take much longer to construct and of course are higher in costs. But homes in the US aren't as resilient and are often torn down and rebuilt, whereas in Germany, homes are built for the long-term and passed down between generations.

geff82 10y ago
Yes, sure, construction is in general a bit more solid over here. But with pre-constructed houses, you can also get wood-based buildings starting around 150k (price to build). So here you get the quality, but the financial burden to buy one of these highly engineered houses makes it more difficult to own one when you are young. Sure in the US, there are areas where housing is extremely expensive. But when I look at metropolitan Dallas for example, where the economy is quite good, I can get deals for great looking homes for about 250k including large enough ground. A similar home in a similar economic area here, just comparing ground and building size (not quality) would cost me 500-800k in Germany. So maybe many US homes are not for life, but you can start one in them.