How's the housing situation in your country?

[jasonq]

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

[doctorcurefast]

Every where its the same .. pollution, kids with guns in schools, rampant obesity, and an idiot for president

[Dastreus]

100 empty houses per homeless person. How awesome is that? It's like the economy sucks dick or something. USA! USA! USA!

[Ravenblade]

Germanys rents are fucked up too. Our goverment tryed to stop it but they didnt closed some loopholes. Even on the country side the prices increasing.
Why renting to some middle class workers, when you can stamp 3-4 refugee into a small flat and make 10 times the profit?

What we have now are long-term results and not something that has its starting year fixed in 2015. It's primarily an issue with government policies that date back decades.

The social housing dilemma is also mainly affecting city regions and mostly in the West, around cities like Berlin, Munich, Cologne or Hamburg. The Federal government chose to subsidize private housing over social and thus more affordable housing. Private housebuilding means taking up more space, often space that was part of the green belt outside of cities and towns. The need for social housing drove the prices upwards and made big housing companies rich which then would be getting more handouts by the governments that would be spent in renovations and then getting "refinanced" through - increased - renting prices driving former tenants out for a few richer ones. That situation got also abused by shady landlords who would rent cheap and unrenovated housing for often inhumane prices to anyone in pressing need of shelter. This isn't precisely a new kind of human behavior but one that was foreseen by social charity organizations, unions, and parties on the left side of the spectrum. In Munich, there are an estimated 10,000 homeless people, a fifth of it being teenagers, that number is undoubtedly much higher now since the issue has exploded throughout this year.

[Deleted]

The UK? Worst state it's ever been.

Lower class are doomed to enter a never escaping rent cycle by the upper classes if their parents can't pay off their mortgages for them.

No wait times, just too expensive housing and renting is a waste of money.

Boomers fucked it up, like everything in this country.

So much this

[Deleted]

In my part of the EU most people buy and pay off the loan over 30 years.
A working couple with an office job is able to do it withoutt much struggle. Singles and low income people have it worse.

Is the country you live in a secret that should not be told to anyone?

[Spectral]

Heavily varied by area to the point where there isn't a single American housing situation. In the most desired cities such as San Francisco and Washington DC, prices have absolutely soared to the point where it's not remotely affordable for people without very high incomes to live in the preferred downtown areas even as renters. Buying is another level in these areas altogether - homes under $1 million barely exist at all and the ones that do are tiny condos.

That said, rural areas are downright cheap. Space is cheap and available in the United States. More importantly for me, mid-size cities that I prefer anyway are quite affordable for both buyers and renters. My city has some monetary barriers to buying a home, but the sorts of places that my wife and I find appealing can be had in a cool neighborhood for ~$300K-400K, which is pretty easy to afford on a solid middle-class income.

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100 empty houses per homeless person. How awesome is that? It's like the economy sucks dick or something. USA! USA! USA!

I think you'd have a very hard time building a story in which the reason that people are homeless is because the economy isn't in good condition.

[Vash The Stampede]

Soon banks are going to give loans for people looking to getting cardboard boxes as homes.

[Methodd]

Every where its the same .. pollution, kids with guns in schools, rampant obesity, and an idiot for president

Hilariously exaggerated.

I just turned 31 and I have a brand new house that was just recently built in a very nice neighborhood. I can afford it and live comfortably, with neither my wife nor I receiving a penny from our families for help. Saving money and living responsibly reaps rewards, a concept completely lost on my generation.

Although I don't live in a poorly run coastal state, so my results are probably different.

[dextersmith]

We invite foreigners in, let them stay in hotels at our expense and give them welfare, etc. but ignore our own homeless. Guess which country! It rhymes with Kanada!

[tumppu]

"In your country" is pretty wide. "In your town" I'd say it's always fluctuating, but in general rental prices are high, because there's quite a lot of students here.

Purchasing prices are high in the center and near the uni, but drop off pretty quickly when going further from the center.

[Deathknightish]

You're doing it wrong. Took me a week to find one for my brother last year. Also, buying one with a loan will cost you about as much as renting one and in many cases less.

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Yeah, becuase they get all the good, central apartments. I'm guessing that was a joke?
If not, no you're wrong.

No, I'm not doing it wrong because I'm not counting second hand contracts that are either A) Short term, aka 1 year or less because of second hand rules or B) Not illegal, but against the rules and you live at a risk of getting kicked out by the landlord any day

I already linked a site earlier showing waiting times for different parts of Stockholm, where there's proof that the waiting time, even out in the ghetto, is at least 10 years. Göteborg is not much better. We have a few less years, and nothing insane like Södermalm which requires 20> years, but good luck getting a first hand contract in central Gothenburg within 10 years. I've been on Boplats since 2012, and I still haven't become eligible for apartments in the worst areas. That takes at least 2 more years.

Now, contacts MIGHT get you an apartment quicker, but not everybody is contact savvy, and the absolute vast majority get their apartments through sites such as Boplats and other cities' equivalent to that.

Also, that other part about a bostadsrätt being cheaper. I mean... sure, if you can get past that paygate. Not a lot of people will be able to reach that amount of money until well into their 40s though, at least not if they're single. I'm 30, and I have a big social circle, and I'm the only one above 90k SEK on my savings account. I still have a long way to go to get a loan.

[Aggrophobic]

No, I'm not doing it wrong because I'm not counting second hand contracts that are either A) Short term, aka 1 year or less because of second hand rules or B) Not illegal, but against the rules and you live at a risk of getting kicked out by the landlord any day

I already linked a site earlier showing waiting times for different parts of Stockholm, where there's proof that the waiting time, even out in the ghetto, is at least 10 years. Göteborg is not much better. We have a few less years, and nothing insane like Södermalm which requires 20> years, but good luck getting a first hand contract in central Gothenburg within 10 years. I've been on Boplats since 2012, and I still haven't become eligible for apartments in the worst areas. That takes at least 2 more years.

Now, contacts MIGHT get you an apartment quicker, but not everybody is contact savvy, and the absolute vast majority get their apartments through sites such as Boplats and other cities' equivalent to that.

Also, that other part about a bostadsrätt being cheaper. I mean... sure, if you can get past that paygate. Not a lot of people will be able to reach that amount of money until well into their 40s though, at least not if they're single. I'm 30, and I have a big social circle, and I'm the only one above 90k SEK on my savings account. I still have a long way to go to get a loan.

If you actually try, it takes way less then 10-20 years. If you're willing to live in places such Kungälv then theres vacant appartments there right now. Same goes fo Ale and other places just north of Gothenburg.
Besides, if you're not able to get a few 100k sek befor you're in your 40s, I'd think less about decent living and more about education (thats free by the way). You could always ask your parents to help you as well. Not an option for everyone but the vast majority of swedes has enough for that to be an option.

[Deleted]

I live in Sweden and I could find a new apartment to rent tomorrow if I wanted to. Not that I would, since the one I have is amazing and only 350 euro in rent each month.

Sweden isn't made up of just Stockholm and Gothenburg, I hope you know.
Don't want to deal with outrageous pricing and long queues and shady second-hand letting businesses? Stay away from the largest cities in most of the west.

350 euro, for how much square meters if may I ask? Quite unrealistic price if you don't want to live in very small place.

[Queen of Hamsters]

350 euro, for how much square meters if may I ask? Quite unrealistic price if you don't want to live in very small place.

45 square meters.

Unrealistic? Lol, not from where I'm literally sat in it.