3 ms·

The main problem of this development is the fact that more and more old local people cannot afford the rents anymore and have to move to the suburbs although th

by donmb 12y ago

The main problem of this development is the fact that more and more old local people cannot afford the rents anymore and have to move to the suburbs although they have lived in the centre for almost all of their life. A Kiez is changing very quickly: it starts with an abandoned Kiez which everybody avoids - low rents etc. Then creatives come and a scene is developing. Bars/Clubs etc get attracted, more people move there, rents rise, bars/clubs close again -> scene moves somewhere else. Funny is that a lot of my friends who have moved to Berlin complain that their local club/pub has closed (cannot afford rent anymore) but in fact they're responsible for it. Atm Berlin is still an awesome place with a lot of independent spirit but that might dramatically change within the next 10 years.

TillE 12y ago
The difference in rents is very small, as far as I can tell. Out of curiosity I've looked for cheap apartments even in the eastern suburbs, but they don't really exist. You'll probably have an easier time getting one, but you won't be paying much less. I pay €450 for a decent two-room place in a beautiful part of Kreuzberg, and it doesn't go much lower than that anywhere in Berlin.
zura 12y ago
Hm, is it normal in Berlin to live at some place for many years and still renting the apartment? Instead of buying/owning it...
- ido 12y ago
  Yes, iirc 90% of people rent here.
- zurn 12y ago
  Yes, it's one of the places that legislates favourable rules toward the lodger (stringent conditions on rent increases or lease terminations etc). Lots of people even sublet their favourably gotten rental flats onward for more money. Although if people owned the flats, the lower income senior citizens would still move: they would find it expedient to sell their now-expensive flats and put the money to living expenses (or grandchildren or travel or assisted living etc). This is happening in other growing cities around the world. edit: It seems to me renting (or some other form of "right-of-occupancy" arrangement) is actually the desireable choice for most situations. Investing hundreds of thousands in a single unit of housing is not a good fit for most people's savings/investment plan - you'd want to diversify, and possibly hedge against things going downhill in your neighbourhood. If rent market works well, and taxation and rental terms work out, it's better for everybody to just pay for the apartment's financing and maintenance plus a small profit margin in the form of rent.
- vog 12y ago
  Sure, it is. People often move every 3-15 years, while staying in the same city (or sometime leaving for another city). This is much easier with renting where you just have to take care of finding the new flat, rather than also selling your old flat. People usually buy a house or flat only when they are very good situated and are founding a family. And even then most prefer renting simply because you have to take care of less things (owning a house can be quite time consuming).
lentil_soup 12y ago
That I believe is called Gentrification: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification

by donmb 12y ago

TillE 12y ago

The difference in rents is very small, as far as I can tell. Out of curiosity I've looked for cheap apartments even in the eastern suburbs, but they don't really exist. You'll probably have an easier time getting one, but you won't be paying much less. I pay €450 for a decent two-room place in a beautiful part of Kreuzberg, and it doesn't go much lower than that anywhere in Berlin.

zura 12y ago

Hm, is it normal in Berlin to live at some place for many years and still renting the apartment? Instead of buying/owning it...

ido 12y ago
Yes, iirc 90% of people rent here.
zurn 12y ago
Yes, it's one of the places that legislates favourable rules toward the lodger (stringent conditions on rent increases or lease terminations etc). Lots of people even sublet their favourably gotten rental flats onward for more money. Although if people owned the flats, the lower income senior citizens would still move: they would find it expedient to sell their now-expensive flats and put the money to living expenses (or grandchildren or travel or assisted living etc). This is happening in other growing cities around the world. edit: It seems to me renting (or some other form of "right-of-occupancy" arrangement) is actually the desireable choice for most situations. Investing hundreds of thousands in a single unit of housing is not a good fit for most people's savings/investment plan - you'd want to diversify, and possibly hedge against things going downhill in your neighbourhood. If rent market works well, and taxation and rental terms work out, it's better for everybody to just pay for the apartment's financing and maintenance plus a small profit margin in the form of rent.
vog 12y ago
Sure, it is. People often move every 3-15 years, while staying in the same city (or sometime leaving for another city). This is much easier with renting where you just have to take care of finding the new flat, rather than also selling your old flat. People usually buy a house or flat only when they are very good situated and are founding a family. And even then most prefer renting simply because you have to take care of less things (owning a house can be quite time consuming).

lentil_soup 12y ago

That I believe is called Gentrification: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification