[detaro]

What does this house price number here capture? Cost of a single-family home? Buying cost of residential buildings in general? Or some combined index of actual housing cost?

some speculations:

A large part of the German market is renting, even more so in the "hot" cities. Many smaller towns and rural areas are struggling, so there are likely quite a few cheap houses available there which keep an average down, even if home prices in boom areas increase.

Buying a house is one of the few widely "acceptable" reasons to go in debt, but many Germans still try to avoid or at least minimize it.

[CalRobert]

Weirdly enough I've been looking at homes in ruralish areas and contemplating buying one to live in and work remote for a few years. Might be able to do it cash, even in an old walled city, and it seems like it wouldn't be the worst way to learn German for myself and my infant.

Any comment?