Anyone looking for an apartment today needs one thing above all else: luck. Or a lot of money. Rents have been rising rapidly for years – and there is no real relief in sight. In many cities, tenants now pay significantly more than they did a decade ago, especially for new rentals. At the same time, the political debate seems to be going in circles: more regulation, more new construction, more funding programs – but there is no breakthrough.
Why has housing become so expensive – and what would have to happen to make it affordable again? We talk about that in the new episode of Is that a bubble?the ZEIT business podcast about money, power and justice. We have invited ZEIT business editor Marcus Rohwetter, who has been dealing with all questions relating to housing for many years. He explains how rents have actually developed over the past 15 years and why young people in particular are suffering particularly from the high prices today. A problem is not only the lack of living space, but also its distribution: many people stay in large apartments for a long time, while others can hardly find anything.
The conversation is also about what government interventions such as rent controls and caps actually achieve – and why they often fall short of expectations. Can more new construction really dampen prices? Or has the mantra “build, build, build” long since reached its limits?
Is that a bubble? is the ZEIT business podcast. Every two weeks on Mondays, hosts Carla Neuhaus, Jens Tönnesmann and Zacharias Zacharakis discuss what holds the world together at its core: money, power and justice.