ᐅ Is the real estate market increasingly forcing families to build their own homes?
Created on: 6 Apr 2019 11:35
T
Thierse
Actually, we would prefer to avoid building. Unfortunately, existing properties within a 20 km (12 miles) radius have become quite expensive, and affordable rental houses with small gardens are simply scarce.
Until now, we have been living in an old rental apartment without a garden. We would like to change that, but there is a lack of options. The listings on various platforms are overcrowded with families looking for affordable housing.
Who is familiar with this situation, and how do you deal with it?
Until now, we have been living in an old rental apartment without a garden. We would like to change that, but there is a lack of options. The listings on various platforms are overcrowded with families looking for affordable housing.
Who is familiar with this situation, and how do you deal with it?
C
chand19867 Apr 2019 08:33That cities are unable to access funds is also due to a lack of skilled personnel. These positions have been cut.
But that doesn’t help at the moment. As long as no one accelerates investments and interest rates have to stay low, prices will remain high.
The original poster asks how to deal with this. Unfortunately, there is no immediate solution.
Indirectly, one can try to overcome this government austerity mindset, which is also held by voters—our politicians don’t appear out of nowhere. Then, perhaps, there will be more housing available in about 20 years.
Alternatively, people might move to areas where housing is still available. That means leaving their current environment behind, which is also not an easy choice.
But that doesn’t help at the moment. As long as no one accelerates investments and interest rates have to stay low, prices will remain high.
The original poster asks how to deal with this. Unfortunately, there is no immediate solution.
Indirectly, one can try to overcome this government austerity mindset, which is also held by voters—our politicians don’t appear out of nowhere. Then, perhaps, there will be more housing available in about 20 years.
Alternatively, people might move to areas where housing is still available. That means leaving their current environment behind, which is also not an easy choice.
H
hampshire7 Apr 2019 08:46I agree that there are a number of negative developments that make housing too expensive and income disparities too wide. We should be able to address this better on a social and political level within the framework of our conditions in Central Europe.
From an open global perspective, however, I have to acknowledge that we are describing problems here that wouldn’t exist if we were not doing so well.
Often, we do not look that far and instead shift the limits of our everyday horizon within the bubble we live in. In this mindset, issues such as a “mandatory building requirement” arise.
From an open global perspective, however, I have to acknowledge that we are describing problems here that wouldn’t exist if we were not doing so well.
Often, we do not look that far and instead shift the limits of our everyday horizon within the bubble we live in. In this mindset, issues such as a “mandatory building requirement” arise.
C
chand19867 Apr 2019 08:57hampshire schrieb:
With an open view of the world, I must also point out that we are describing problems here that we wouldn’t have if our situation were not so good. And who benefits from comparing downward? I always picture the chancellor with the hashtag saying "we are doing well"...
It used to be better and it can be much better, without anything breaking in the process. That should be the standard we aim for.
At some point, there will be a study showing that homeless people in Germany are much better off than those in Nigeria (despite the worse weather). Topped with "we are doing well."
Moreover, the cause of these problems is not the high level from which we are looking. This approach excuses those responsible, and there is no reason for that.
We have also considered the idea of converting a property into residential space because the demand is simply so high. The fact is, it’s not worthwhile. Construction costs are so high that the rents (in DD) don’t come close to covering them for a long time.
So we thought that with increasing demand, the city might offer some kind of subsidy to make it feasible. Nothing at all! It’s all nonsense. Nobody receives any meaningful support. Sure, you can build silos for low-income tenants with 15-year rent controls. And I deliberately say low-income tenants. In places where this has been done, there is daily vandalism in the elevators and everything is destroyed. The landlords are constantly renovating. Pointless. As long as nobody protests on the streets about the housing shortage, nobody cares.
Apart from that, I agree with @hampshire that this is complaining on a high level. There is still plenty of space and building land here in the East. Not everyone can have a house on the city outskirts of Munich or Cologne. So come here if having a house with a garden is that important to you.
In general, my husband and I regularly argue about whether the government is responsible for ensuring that everyone can have affordable housing in a big city. I say “No, unrealistic” – if you can’t afford it, you’ll just have to live outside the city. He says “Yes” – housing is a basic right and the city must provide something for the poor as well. So far, we have no solution.
So we thought that with increasing demand, the city might offer some kind of subsidy to make it feasible. Nothing at all! It’s all nonsense. Nobody receives any meaningful support. Sure, you can build silos for low-income tenants with 15-year rent controls. And I deliberately say low-income tenants. In places where this has been done, there is daily vandalism in the elevators and everything is destroyed. The landlords are constantly renovating. Pointless. As long as nobody protests on the streets about the housing shortage, nobody cares.
Apart from that, I agree with @hampshire that this is complaining on a high level. There is still plenty of space and building land here in the East. Not everyone can have a house on the city outskirts of Munich or Cologne. So come here if having a house with a garden is that important to you.
In general, my husband and I regularly argue about whether the government is responsible for ensuring that everyone can have affordable housing in a big city. I say “No, unrealistic” – if you can’t afford it, you’ll just have to live outside the city. He says “Yes” – housing is a basic right and the city must provide something for the poor as well. So far, we have no solution.
C
chand19867 Apr 2019 09:10kaho674 schrieb:
when it comes to the question of whether the state is responsible for ensuring that everyone has access to affordable housing in big cities. What is there to argue about? Housing is a basic necessity for a dignified life, and this is protected by constitutional law. Of course, the state must intervene if people can no longer live where the jobs are (the taxes generated from which benefit society).
Furthermore, the unaffordability of housing is not only due to prices but also to incomes. Incomes have been strongly constrained in their growth by state-controlled agreements such as the “Alliance for Jobs.” So the state can act if it wants to. However, it tends to act only in ways dictated by certain lobby groups whose interests are not aligned with the common good. Hence the frequent argument that such intervention is “unrealistic.”
H
hampshire7 Apr 2019 09:14chand1986 schrieb:
Also, the cause of the problems is not the high level from which we are observing. This approach excuses those responsible, and there is no reason for that. I fully agree with these words: an overall perspective should not relativize suboptimal actions, regardless of the level. That would be a serious oversimplification.
For me, it’s about personal satisfaction. Our desires and expectations, combined with blindness to what “is already there,” can wear us down. We lose gratitude. A simple example: very few of us have ever had to experience war. Having peace and the freedom to move about daily is as normal to us as breathing. Occasionally looking beyond the everyday horizon is healthy. This is an adjustment within our own responsibility. “Forced to build” – no, really not.
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