This got brought up today in German news. Only one German in eleven....has the financial capital or reserves....to plunk down the money and buy a house/condo. The other ten? Marginally fit in finances, or limited because of the high rent situation to accommodate enough wealth for the down-payment situation.
It's something that I often discuss in essays about the state of 'affordable housing' in Germany. If you go to any highly urbanized area....like Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt....then start discussing a two-bedroom apartment, it's just about impossible to talk in the 600 to 800 Euro range. Even if you did find something close to that price, then you start to find the issues of maintenance or a 'problem-neighborhood'. So you end up paying in the 800 to 1,200 Euro range. Salaries haven't escalated like rent prices over the past twenty years. So you drain your monthly reserves....that could have gone to long-term investments and helping you to afford the purchase of a house.
Most in this type of situation, will go and use 'shadow-communities'.....those towns resting 20 to 40 kilometers outside of the city, and find the cheaper housing situation but sign up to a 40 to 70 minute commute each day. Towns that have an access to the rapid-rail or train network, hype their connectivity, and typically the rents edge up.
Long-term....this one in eleven problem is a major problem and creating a massive negative in the future. But getting a solution for this is just about impossible.
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