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I have mixed feelings about this policy as a berliner. But the article is definitely skewed towards the landowners and huge renting companies. Some facts for

I have mixed feelings about this policy as a berliner. But the article is definitely skewed towards the landowners and huge renting companies. Some facts for you: Rate of home ownership among Berliners, Londoners, Parisans: - Berlin: 17.5% - London: 52% - Paris: ~60% The main problems is huge home-renting corporations. The article refers to a separate discussion about breaking up huge companies that own more than 3,000 apartments. As far as I know this criteria meets only a couple of huge companies such as Deutsche Wohnen that over the past couple of years have artificially created a sense of scarcity and caused the rent to increase without a proportionally increase to wages(Not only blue collar but also High Tech wages) It is very ironic that companies such as Deutsche Wohnen were able to grab so many apartments when Berlin wall fell with dirt cheap prices. You can argue rushed privatisation caused this problem and something needs to be done if Berlin wants to avoid becoming SF. - https://guthmann.estate/en/market-report/berlin/ https://guthmann.estate/en/market-report/berlin/ - https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/housing-tenure-over-time/#:~:text=Tenure%20types%20of%20London%20households%20over%20time%20(1961%2D2018),-Data%20source&text=The%20proportion%20of%20London%20households,52%25%20in%20the%20last%20decade https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/housing-tenure-over-t.... - https://tradingeconomics.com/france/home-ownership-rate#:~:text=Home%20Ownership%20Rate%20in%20France%20averaged%2063.32%20percent%20from%202005,of%2060.50%20percent%20in%202007 https://tradingeconomics.com/france/home-ownership-rate#:~:t.... - https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-social-democrats-reject-expropriation-of-homes/a-51004409 https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-social-democrats-reject-expropr...

bogomipz 6y ago
Regarding the rate of home ownership among Berliners. I remember reading that Germans in general are more likely to to rent than own their housing. Is that not true? >"It is very ironic that companies such as Deutsche Wohnen were able to grab so many apartments when Berlin wall fell with dirt cheap prices. You can argue rushed privatisation caused this problem and something needs to be done if Berlin wants to avoid becoming SF." Interesting. Is Deutsche Wohnen origins the old East Berlin then?
- detaro 6y ago
  > Interesting. Is Deutsche Wohnen origins the old East Berlin then? Not really, no. It was founded in 1998 and initially had no Berlin holdings at all. It then bought various entities with housing stock in Berlin, which also have complex histories - e.g. one example was founded as a city-owned company in the 1920s, lost its East German properties obviously but continued to operate in West Berlin, after reunification got the eastern bits back, and then was privatized in the 90s. But of course East German state ownership plays a role in how the situation overall came together.
- ChuckNorris89 6y ago
  >I remember reading that Germans in general are more likely to to rent than own their housing. Is that not true? The majority rent not because of a lifestyle choice but because they can't afford to buy anything so renting is their only choice. What else are they gonna do, be homeless? All mid-upper class German families I met owned their properties.

bogomipz 6y ago

Regarding the rate of home ownership among Berliners. I remember reading that Germans in general are more likely to to rent than own their housing. Is that not true? >"It is very ironic that companies such as Deutsche Wohnen were able to grab so many apartments when Berlin wall fell with dirt cheap prices. You can argue rushed privatisation caused this problem and something needs to be done if Berlin wants to avoid becoming SF." Interesting. Is Deutsche Wohnen origins the old East Berlin then?

detaro 6y ago
> Interesting. Is Deutsche Wohnen origins the old East Berlin then? Not really, no. It was founded in 1998 and initially had no Berlin holdings at all. It then bought various entities with housing stock in Berlin, which also have complex histories - e.g. one example was founded as a city-owned company in the 1920s, lost its East German properties obviously but continued to operate in West Berlin, after reunification got the eastern bits back, and then was privatized in the 90s. But of course East German state ownership plays a role in how the situation overall came together.
ChuckNorris89 6y ago
>I remember reading that Germans in general are more likely to to rent than own their housing. Is that not true? The majority rent not because of a lifestyle choice but because they can't afford to buy anything so renting is their only choice. What else are they gonna do, be homeless? All mid-upper class German families I met owned their properties.