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Pekka Sagner / Maximilian Stockhausen / Michael Voigtländer IW-Analyse No. 136 21. July 2020 Housing – the new social question?

The sharp rise in rents and housing prices in the 2010s, particularly in the major conurbations, has led some to assert that housing is “the social question of our time”.

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Housing – the new social question?
Pekka Sagner / Maximilian Stockhausen / Michael Voigtländer IW-Analyse No. 136 21. July 2020

Housing – the new social question?

IW-Analyse

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German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

The sharp rise in rents and housing prices in the 2010s, particularly in the major conurbations, has led some to assert that housing is “the social question of our time”.

This paper uses the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) as a basis for longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses of the development of the housing cost burden, and also explores the historical significance of the social question. Overall, it reveals that a booming labour market combined with a reduction in living space has kept the housing cost burden constant for many households. Only for a few occupants has the burden actually increased to any noticeable extent, and even then it has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in satisfaction with their accommodation. Yet if housing cannot be described as the social issue of our time, many households still need support and their number could rise, particularly in view of the virus-related economic crisis of 2020. The instruments available for this purpose, such as housing benefit and subsidised housing, thus need to be strengthened. However, especially in the latter case, attention must be paid to improving their targeting.

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Housing – the new social question?
Pekka Sagner / Maximilian Stockhausen / Michael Voigtländer IW-Analyse No. 136 21. July 2020

Pekka Sagner / Maximilian Stockhausen / Michael Voigtländer: Wohnen – die neue soziale Frage?

IW-Analyse

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German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

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Pekka Sagner / Michael Voigtländer in International Journal of Housing Policy External Publication 6. May 2022

Supply side effects of the Berlin rent freeze

On 23 February 2020, the Berlin Senate introduced the Berlin rent freeze (‘Mietendeckel’). The law was repealed on 25 March 2021. The Berlin rent freeze was an unprecedented market intervention in the German housing market.

IW

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Pekka Sagner / Michael Voigtländer IW-Trends No. 3 20. August 2021

How the Berlin Rent Cap Affected Private Landlords

The effects of the Berlin rent cap on the city’s housing market were wide-reaching, with the supply of rental accommodation falling by more than half while the cap was in force.

IW

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