Housing shortage in the metropolises: Association of cities recommends moving to the country

housing shortage in the metropolises
Association of cities recommends moving to the country

Affordable housing in major German cities is scarce. The Association of Towns and Municipalities therefore advises looking at the countryside. The offer is bigger there. More than 1.3 million apartments in rural areas are empty, says general manager Landsberg.

In view of the housing shortage in the metropolises, the Association of Towns and Municipalities has called for people to use apartments in the country. It is hardly noticed that “more than 1.3 million marketable apartments, especially in rural areas, are empty,” said general manager Gerd Landsberg of the Funke media group. “It would therefore make sense to better develop these regions with good transport connections, for example through new or reactivated railway lines, so that people can live and live there well and cheaply.” Working from home creates new opportunities here.

“Unfortunately, with the call for ever cheaper rents or even the nationalization of housing associations, we are not getting any closer to our goal,” said Landsberg. The demand for apartments, especially in the metropolitan regions, is increasing unabated.

The federal government’s goal of completing 400,000 new apartments per year is “barely achievable,” Landsberg stated. There is a lack of land, building prices have risen significantly and there is also a lack of specialist companies that could erect the buildings. Rising interest rates are making financing more difficult, and the increasing demands for energy-efficient refurbishment are making construction even more expensive.

The problem cannot be solved in the short term. “The designation of new building areas is sometimes met with resistance because this could result in areas being sealed off,” says Landsberg. “The densification in the cities is also met with resistance from local residents, who fear noise and environmental pollution.”

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