How do you achieve your dream of owning your own home?

Semi-detached house, 4.5 rooms, 113.84 m2, small garden with pool: a few kilometers from the city Salzburg This dream costs away from house According to the advertisement, 739,960 euros. Nice, but how can you still afford such a dream these days? a credit It's the solution.

Big wait

Due to the change in interest rates, stricter lending standards and inflation, demand for loans has decreased since mid-2022. This is confirmed by the diagram Austrian national banK. Accordingly, the annual growth rate was Housing loans Of private households in April 2022 by 7.5 percent and in December 2023 by -2.4 percent.

“However, interest in real estate remains high. People take longer to make a decision and do the calculations more carefully,” says the finance expert. Ursula Hellinger From independent consulting firm Infina. They will also wait until interest rates fall again. “The problem is that people are always focused on what is current interest rate. In the long term, the current interest rate remains in the good middle range. And they lower themselves Interest chargesthey rise again Real estate prices“Because demand is increasing,” Hellinger explains.

Finance

Hellinger in her work as Finance advisor Every day I deal with people who think they can't afford their dream of owning their own home: “They're told they can't afford it, but it's often not their fault.” Client themselves, but because they asked the wrong bank. “Because each bank has its own internal lending guidelines.” Information on whether you should get one apartmenthouse or renewal They can only provide comprehensive advice from an independent finance expert who specializes in housing finance.

Collective investment
Driving Africa's energy transition, investing in retirement apartments or supporting the construction of a solar-powered bakery: crowdinvesting provides an alternative form of investment. “It's co-investing in different projects. At the end of the term, you usually get your money back with interest or benefits in kind,” says Verena Redler of klimja. The most common projects are divided into three categories: climate protection, startups, and real estate.

Who is crowdinvesting for?
On the one hand, companies can obtain capital independently of the bank. On the other hand, investors actually participate with small amounts such as 100 euros. “You can also independently support projects that share their values,” Redler says.

what is the point?
The risks depend on the project. “The risk is usually higher with startups,” Redler says. Otherwise, you can make an average return of 6-9 percent per year.

Advice from the expert
Never invest all your money in a project, research the company beforehand.

This may not exceed 40 percent of your monthly income. “And if the client can't afford it, you have to be honest about that,” the expert says. According to Hellinger, many Austrians still hope for full funding: “This does not exist in Austria at the moment.” But competent financial advisors know the solution here too. “There are still ways to get less than 20% capital, for example if you work with banks Germany Hellinger says.

Ultimately, you need to know if you are ready for a long-term deal Finance Decide. Professionals will show you many different ways to do this. “Despite rising interest rates and Economic inflation Owning a property is still better than renting an apartment. With the loan you pay the same rate for 20-30 years. “But the rent goes up every year,” Hellinger says. Plus, you can build wealth with it. “There's never a bad time for this. Because you can always renegotiate the terms.”

This series is published editorially independently with financial support from the Specialized Financial Services Group of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.