Are short-term rentals to blame for the lack of housing?

[michellee]

If that were to happen to me, I'd probably stay in an average apartment for a while, hoping to get something better. The government will not remain silent seeing its citizens like this. But we also can't expect the government to immediately work on building housing for its citizens who need it. It may take 5-10 years before the government will make the housing but it also depends on your country's economy.

If the government only cares about tourism rather than its people, sooner or later, the government will get demonstrations from local residents asking for decent housing for them. And when that happens, the tourism sector will be hampered and things will take a turn for the worse. If the government is observant, they will try to open up new land for housing so that everyone can move to a new location and slowly, this housing problem can be overcome.

The situation in every country is different and I don't really understand what the rules are in your country. But I'm sure you can solve the problem well. You can rent a small house that is enough to accommodate your family. And later, if there is a better place and you have the funds to rent or even buy it, you can buy it.

[1714591964]

1714591964

[Bushdark]

I understand what you are passing through and the same too happens here where short term tourists have taken over good apartments because they are ready to pay huge sum of money and for comfortable apart making things to be hard for those that are residents of the area.

I could remember when I left one of the busiest city in my region gor something crucial. Then renting an apartment was not that too expensive although it all depends on the location. But now because of so much migration of tourists and expatriates, apartment in that same city is 2 to 3 times higher than what it was before when I was still living there. Things are expensive now like building materials and others making new apartments to be more expensive that what it was before.

[vv181]

That is a tricky situation. Indeed, a tourist destination will attract many digital nomads to live there, which will drive the prices higher around that area, especially the hotspot place. If there is no obligation that you currently have to stay in some specific places, I believe moving out is a viable option.

Nevertheless, in case you have to stick in the city, I would consider finding a cheaper accommodation as you have said, but try to address the humidity and mold issues, say by buying a de/humidifier, but eventually if it is affecting your health and comfortability, there is no other option to stick in the high-priced area, with a caveat to keep routinely find a better opportunity whether it is a job or an accommodation.

[Lorence.xD]

To be honest, I would like to invest in these kind of housing where I could use them as rental to have passive income. Of course I would put some money where I risk it all because what if there's no people would rent it right? For sure I would rental it with a affordable price. But how come I could buy a some houses if there's lacking right? I think here in the PH, there's a lot of newly subdivision that are open for everyone to buy. It might not be applicable for some countries but I think the main reason for lack of housing is people would buy some commercial space just for short income. Because here I have seen a lot of houses have been demolished and rebuild into some newly mall of course in the mean time as commercial space adapt more then there would be no space fo housing.

[Rikafip]

I've been inactive for quite a while because I'm in the process of renting a house. I don't know how easy it is in other countries, but here, it's an extremely time-consuming and nerve-racking process. I spent more than a week in the streets without any success.

As someone who went through that process in several countries and 10+ cities, I can assure you that situation is not better in the rest of EU, and  not even in the countries like Germany that are not touristy oriented like yours.

What do you think can be done in such cases, and what would you do on a personal level? Move out, stick to paying an extreme amount for housing, or live in a substandard apartment hoping to find something better in the future?

It all really depends how attached you are to your hometown (I guess its your hometown) and are you a risk taker. On a personal level, I would probably move out but only you can make that decision.

[Gozie51]

To be honest, I would like to invest in these kind of housing where I could use them as rental to have passive income. Of course I would put some money where I risk it all because what if there's no people would rent it right?

Housing and estate business is not a passive income generating business. It is a huge business that is also cash intensive. It is the business that you may not encounter loss if you go further to insure it.

I think here in the PH, there's a lot of newly subdivision that are open for everyone to buy. It might not be applicable for some countries

Buy a home today if you can afford it. The value of houses always appreciate.

but I think the main reason for lack of housing is people would buy some commercial space just for short income.

Houses could be in shortage because the government is not doing enough to support.

Because here I have seen a lot of houses have been demolished and rebuild into some newly mall of course in the mean time as commercial space adapt more then there would be no space fo housing.

This is possible because if you build homes to live in business areas then people won't like to rent them. Houses that can be on short rent could in business areas or commercial areas.

[Gyfts]

AirBnB is only part of it. Post COVID the demand for housing rose in just about every market across the world. There was a housing bubble that was created when people began dumping their money into real estate to avoid inflation, and some of the investment firms did the same by purchasing up entire neighborhoods in order to rent out homes for long term investments.

There isn't really anything the average consumer can do but for moving to an area with lower cost of living.

[Ultegra134]

In your specific case, there is no doubt that this is true, as well as in any tourist country, where real estate owners in tourist locations make more money by renting out their properties than by renting them out to the local population. Given that I live in a similar country, I know how things work and unfortunately you cannot force anyone to rent or sell their property to anyone, and that would actually be wrong in principle.

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the environment they live in, but I would personally look for a quieter location outside the big cities where the prices are the highest. Of course, this raises the issue of distance from the workplace if it is located in the city, but sometimes you cannot have cheap and ideal accommodation near the workplace.

When it comes to tourism and climate change, I have read predictions that summer temperatures will be higher and that this will affect everyone involved in tourism, especially in the Mediterranean, where this summer broke all temperature records with extremely strong storms. The question is whether you can wait for it and whether you should even hope for it, because tourism is very important for your country.

Certainly, I'm not fond of large cities, and I'd honestly prefer to live in a more suburban province that would be less touristy and crowded. The issue with that, however, is that I live on an island, a large one in particular, and all of it is practically touristy. Thus, I can't simply move to another area; even the nearby villages have little to no housing left because people found them to be an affordable solution already.

I'm guessing that you can probably relate too, since Croatia has seen a massive increase in tourism in the past few years, and locals, especially in touristy cities like Dubrovnik or Split, are possibly suffering from the same issues.

For country-level solutions, it's simple, build more! More housing than demand lowers the price making it more affordable.
Do nothing solution and wait, another thing that will work since the law of economics will start biting also, there is an influx of cash to the homeowners, there are people who spend more, thus prices in that region become higher, once the price becomes higher it becomes less attractive for most digital nomads who do this for cheap housing and start moving to the next city.

On a personal level, nothing that you can really do without compromises.
Earn more spend less or move away!

It sounds simple enough, even though that doesn't directly solve the housing crisis, as newly constructed blocks of flats are usually sold for personal occupation and are subject to extremely high prices. There's a block of flats being constructed here as we speak, and all the apartments have already been sold at extraordinary prices for the average citizen. So yes, the solution is pretty much to spend more or to move away.

If that were to happen to me, I'd probably stay in an average apartment for a while, hoping to get something better. The government will not remain silent seeing its citizens like this. But we also can't expect the government to immediately work on building housing for its citizens who need it. It may take 5-10 years before the government will make the housing but it also depends on your country's economy.

If the government only cares about tourism rather than its people, sooner or later, the government will get demonstrations from local residents asking for decent housing for them. And when that happens, the tourism sector will be hampered and things will take a turn for the worse. If the government is observant, they will try to open up new land for housing so that everyone can move to a new location and slowly, this housing problem can be overcome.

The situation in every country is different and I don't really understand what the rules are in your country. But I'm sure you can solve the problem well. You can rent a small house that is enough to accommodate your family. And later, if there is a better place and you have the funds to rent or even buy it, you can buy it.

The issue with my current house is that it's way too small to accommodate two people living in it, and larger ones are either way too old with issues or way too expensive; it's like there's no middle ground. The government has proven multiple times that it doesn't care about its citizens at all. I'd explain in more detail, but we'll derail from the discussion, and this matter would only require another thread by itself.

[coupable]

There is a housing crisis in all major cities around the world, and it can be said that prices cannot be controlled, which are subject to the principle of supply and demand. Less offers and more demand. On this basis, not everyone is able to find adequate housing in these cities. Here are some ideas that might be helpful:
- The suburbs of these cities may be less expensive to rent in agreement with a housing partner. This would be a good option with a car or public transportation available.
- Governments usually provide social housing at prices commensurate with the financial capabilities of the middle class. You may seek to obtain one of them.
- If it is possible to change work to less crowded cities, the chances of finding suitable housing are much better.

Usually living in the suburbs worked, at least in the past, now, even the suburbs have developed so much that it's almost no different than living in the city. This surely depends on where you live, this might be an individual case in my area. The condition to receiving government assistance is usually against you too, there are some requirements that it's hard to qualify, but that's a lengthy discussion for a different matter. Moving to a non touristic city may be a better solution, but like all options, it has major disadvantages too

There is another solution that I forgot to mention in my previous comment, and it is related to finding a roommate or more, and thus it is possible to buy a more expensive apartment, but the share of each individual will be less than if he rented an apartment alone.
On the other hand, and according to what I understood from your words, you have a job in a vast city with an average monthly income that does not allow renting an individual apartment due to the high rental rates. At the same time, you cannot move to the suburbs for the same reasons, and your qualifications do not allow you to enjoy social housing. correct?
What are you doing in this city so far, and why haven't you looked for a job with better conditions and income? As far as I know, people like you prefer to live in small towns where life is quieter.

[el kaka22]

Lack of housing is not the issue, lack of funding is the issue. If you have a nation with over 200% houses of what you need, as in there is enough to go around for everyone and then some, and yet only the top buys them all, that results with some people not having a house anyway.

This is why government should always make some houses and rent them for near free levels as well, I know some will yell out socialism because of it, but if half of the world runs in a nation where hospitals, schools, firefighters, police, military and many other things are paid by the people with their taxes, why not have a single government construction company that builds cheap houses in some distant place for everyone to live if they do not have a home.

[Gozie51]

This is why government should always make some houses and rent them for near free levels as well, I know some will yell out socialism because of it, but if half of the world runs in a nation where hospitals, schools, firefighters, police, military and many other things are paid by the people with their taxes, why not have a single government construction company that builds cheap houses in some distant place for everyone to live if they do not have a home.

Government may not build houses for near free but in a subsize level that the rent will gradually be deducted from the monthly payment of workers until the rentage is fully completed and paid for then the house becomes the property of the worker. With such practice, the worker is free from housing problem even at retirement but this practice is fast disappearing because government is failing in her responsibility. Usually the shelters of  those agency of government or parastatals you mentioned were suppose to be under the government but for now most of them take care of their shelters, especially in the capitalist economy.

[darkangel11]

I've been inactive for quite a while because I'm in the process of renting a house. I don't know how easy it is in other countries, but here, it's an extremely time-consuming and nerve-racking process. I spent more than a week in the streets without any success.

That's nothing compared to buying a used car. I've spent 6 months before I bought one.
When I was looking for an apartment It took me a week and the first one I chose was the one I ended up staying in for another 5 years. Maybe I got lucky.

My previous apartment was in the basement and suffered from serious humidity and mold issues.

Maybe your problem lies elsewhere... It seems like you simply don't have enough money to live in normal conditions for the area you chose to live in. Let's say you're from Romania and decide to move to Luxembourg. A minimum wage job there, although being much above the Romanian average, will not buy you an apartment. You'll have to rent a room.

but when the average salary is approximately €700,

Pretty low for a EU country. Most countries here are above 1500 EUR a month. Maybe you mean minimum wage, because that can be 700 net, but I don't know any European country abut for maybe Ukraine and Belarus where average wages are that low, but you said that it's tourist-oriented, so obviously we're not talking about these countries.

[Mahanton]

In my opinion, it's doubtful that this situation is going to improve anytime soon. Touristic cities are bound to suffer from a lack of available housing for long-term rental, and Airbnb can no longer be regulated in order to create a balance between locals and tourists. What do you think can be done in such cases, and what would you do on a personal level? Move out, stick to paying an extreme amount for housing, or live in a substandard apartment hoping to find something better in the future?

If you are on such condition, then do you really have other choice? No you wont, except if you do able to buy up your own property but since we are looking for something to get rented but due to unavailability or high cost
due to various reasons then it would really be ending us up on a situation on which it would really be that hard to find one.If you do earn less than in a month and paying up rent almost consume more than half of what you earn then it do really leaves you no choice. Despite on having on lacking those common features or necessities of a certain rented out but you would really be needing to deal with it even though it is really that against your liking or preference but since you are earning sufficient enough for living then you would really be that sustaining that despite of the hardship. How much more if you do have your own family to raise and live with?
This is why tons of people are thriving to earn more because on the time that they would be able to make money on huge scale the renting out or even buying your own property wouldnt really be a problem but since we are on the reality side of things on which not all would really be capable on doing so, then we would really be needing to make up those kind of adjustments even though it would really be that hard but since we dont have no choice then lets deal with it.

[Unbunplease]

Lack of housing is not the issue, lack of funding is the issue. If you have a nation with over 200% houses of what you need, as in there is enough to go around for everyone and then some, and yet only the top buys them all, that results with some people not having a house anyway.

This is why government should always make some houses and rent them for near free levels as well, I know some will yell out socialism because of it, but if half of the world runs in a nation where hospitals, schools, firefighters, police, military and many other things are paid by the people with their taxes, why not have a single government construction company that builds cheap houses in some distant place for everyone to live if they do not have a home.

Cheap houses are good, but there are costs to maintain and improve them. These broken elevators, dirty yards, poor infrastructure - these are attributes of cheap housing.

Regarding renting - once you lose your job, you may not be able to rent a place - what should you do then?

[Ultegra134]

I've been inactive for quite a while because I'm in the process of renting a house. I don't know how easy it is in other countries, but here, it's an extremely time-consuming and nerve-racking process. I spent more than a week in the streets without any success.

That's nothing compared to buying a used car. I've spent 6 months before I bought one.
When I was looking for an apartment It took me a week and the first one I chose was the one I ended up staying in for another 5 years. Maybe I got lucky.

My previous apartment was in the basement and suffered from serious humidity and mold issues.

Maybe your problem lies elsewhere... It seems like you simply don't have enough money to live in normal conditions for the area you chose to live in. Let's say you're from Romania and decide to move to Luxembourg. A minimum wage job there, although being much above the Romanian average, will not buy you an apartment. You'll have to rent a room.

but when the average salary is approximately €700,

Pretty low for a EU country. Most countries here are above 1500 EUR a month. Maybe you mean minimum wage, because that can be 700 net, but I don't know any European country abut for maybe Ukraine and Belarus where average wages are that low, but you said that it's tourist-oriented, so obviously we're not talking about these countries.

Although I understand your point, buying a used car and renting out a place are two completely different things. Both, however, are time-consuming and nerve-racking processes because, in both cases, you'll find an abundance of lemons. Theoretically, my partner and I have been on the lookout for a new rental house for over 6 months; we haven't been actively looking till now, but it's fair to say that nothing worthy has come up yet. The previous house we rented was in another city, which faced an even larger issue with housing: there weren't any available; your only chance was through word-of-mouth, no advertisements or anything. Thus, you're pretty much stuck with what you find. Where we currently live, there are a few houses available, but most of them are either too small or too expensive for what they offer.

Greece's minimum wage is €670 for all-year-round occupations, and the majority of businesses offer the lowest you can get. The average you'd receive is about €750–€800 because the minimum wage is for 40 hours of work per week and most jobs occupy you for at least 48 hours, which is practically 8 hours of overtime work. You can receive a greater salary if you work in the tourism sector, averaging €1000–€1200 per month for approximately 6–7 months at most. Then, you'll receive 3 months of unemployment benefits (€468 per month) until you return to work.

I'm already living with my partner, so we're splitting rent and utilities; however, that doesn't change the fact that €400 for a small apartment is too much when the minimum wage is so little.

[_BlackStar]

-snip-

In the end people keep on blaming the government for their financial inequality which causes them to face some problems in their social life. I understand your feelings - but the government will not be able to change the fate of all its citizens 100% and fulfill all the wishes of its citizens.

At least we are responsible for ourselves rather than depending on government policies that favor us. Of course we can expect the government to be able to solve all these problems thoroughly – but our destiny is our own responsibility. Ultegra134 - governments care about their citizens, but sometimes they can't touch every citizen with favorable policies.

[Fortify]

I've been inactive for quite a while because I'm in the process of renting a house. I don't know how easy it is in other countries, but here, it's an extremely time-consuming and nerve-racking process. I spent more than a week in the streets without any success.

I know for a fact that many tourist-oriented cities across Europe are facing similar issues due to the increasing supply of Airbnbs and the increase in digital nomads over the years. This is rendering the situation uninhabitable for local residents, who have to face the constantly increasing rents because homeowners prefer to rent to tourists and digital nomads, who have a much higher spending capability. On the one hand, from homeowners' points of view, it's understandable; they want to make the most out of their property, but on the other hand, locals will ultimately be forced to leave the city or live in poor conditions.

For instance, a typical example of how much remote working has spread in Europe and Greece specifically is the following: The official digital nomads Facebook group used to have less than 5,000 users approximately a year ago; now it has over 34,000, which doesn't necessarily mean that all these people live in Greece and work remotely, but I'm trying to emphasize how broader the issue is for locals because there's an increasing interest in short-term rentals. I remember a few years ago, the local newspaper was filled with housing listings, but after the introduction of Airbnb and short-term rentals, this has changed. Not only is there a lack of housing due to the increasing demand and the constantly decreasing supply, but those that are available are too expensive and, in some cases, unsuitable to live in due to how small and improvised they are. My previous apartment was in the basement and suffered from serious humidity and mold issues.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in my area is about €400, which is still far from being perfect or ideal, often lacking basic utilities such as proper heating or a solar water heater, which is a must for the 300 days a year of sunshine we have. I know that compared to other European cities, this amount of money sounds insignificant, but when the average salary is approximately €700, you can wish yourself good luck living alone. No wonder almost half of the population aged between 18 and 25 still lives with their parents.

In my opinion, it's doubtful that this situation is going to improve anytime soon. Touristic cities are bound to suffer from a lack of available housing for long-term rental, and Airbnb can no longer be regulated in order to create a balance between locals and tourists. What do you think can be done in such cases, and what would you do on a personal level? Move out, stick to paying an extreme amount for housing, or live in a substandard apartment hoping to find something better in the future?

It's unfair to put all the blame for this problem at the shoes of any one group and it can be an extremely dynamic situation. Short term lets may be the problem with housing in certain cities or smaller areas, but ultimately it is a failure of regulation. In a free market you have to accept that these sort of situations will occur, only by government tweaking the incentives and penalties will you be able to counter this activity. If a landlord can make three or five times the amount from selling a short term let, which they're able to fill up, then that should be their choice but they should pay a much higher penalty if there is evidence that they are distorting the makeup of the surrounding area substantially due to this expensive rental service.

[TimeTeller]

-snip-

In the end people keep on blaming the government for their financial inequality which causes them to face some problems in their social life. I understand your feelings - but the government will not be able to change the fate of all its citizens 100% and fulfill all the wishes of its citizens.

At least we are responsible for ourselves rather than depending on government policies that favor us. Of course we can expect the government to be able to solve all these problems thoroughly – but our destiny is our own responsibility. Ultegra134 - governments care about their citizens, but sometimes they can't touch every citizen with favorable policies.

That is true, on a personal level, you need to resolve such issues because the government can't address all those problems.
They can only do so much for its citizens, and the rest is the hard work of its people.
If you think you are not earning enough, look for alternative jobs that can add to your income.
And find ways how you can get out of your situation, like saving or find a low-cost housing. It would take time, but you need to do your work on this.

[Johnyz]

Lack of housing is not the issue, lack of funding is the issue. If you have a nation with over 200% houses of what you need, as in there is enough to go around for everyone and then some, and yet only the top buys them all, that results with some people not having a house anyway.

This is why government should always make some houses and rent them for near free levels as well, I know some will yell out socialism because of it, but if half of the world runs in a nation where hospitals, schools, firefighters, police, military and many other things are paid by the people with their taxes, why not have a single government construction company that builds cheap houses in some distant place for everyone to live if they do not have a home.

Cheap houses are good, but there are costs to maintain and improve them. These broken elevators, dirty yards, poor infrastructure - these are attributes of cheap housing.

Regarding renting - once you lose your job, you may not be able to rent a place - what should you do then?

The facilities and the amenities are very important to attract renter, and if your developer is not good enough with this for sure it will be hard for you to market your unit.
If you're renting, then having your stable income is advisable so you can still protect your dignity as a renter.

If we are talking here about the lack of housing from the government, then I think its wrong to fully depend on them, there's a lot of private developer in my country and we are already congested and the condo units are rising every year, there's a lot of supply already but the demand is declining, and the result is cheaper rental.

[Silberman]

I've been inactive for quite a while because I'm in the process of renting a house. I don't know how easy it is in other countries, but here, it's an extremely time-consuming and nerve-racking process. I spent more than a week in the streets without any success.

I know for a fact that many tourist-oriented cities across Europe are facing similar issues due to the increasing supply of Airbnbs and the increase in digital nomads over the years. This is rendering the situation uninhabitable for local residents, who have to face the constantly increasing rents because homeowners prefer to rent to tourists and digital nomads, who have a much higher spending capability. On the one hand, from homeowners' points of view, it's understandable; they want to make the most out of their property, but on the other hand, locals will ultimately be forced to leave the city or live in poor conditions.

...

In my opinion, it's doubtful that this situation is going to improve anytime soon. Touristic cities are bound to suffer from a lack of available housing for long-term rental, and Airbnb can no longer be regulated in order to create a balance between locals and tourists. What do you think can be done in such cases, and what would you do on a personal level? Move out, stick to paying an extreme amount for housing, or live in a substandard apartment hoping to find something better in the future?

The problem is too complex, it is true that companies like Airbnb are part of the problem, however the problem is way deeper than that, due to the high inflation we went through due to the pandemic houses became more expensive and now more people are interested on renting, increasing the demand, however less houses were sold due to the higher prices reducing the supply, and now homeowners want to pay for their mortgage as soon as possible and they need to make as much money as they can while reducing the expenses their properties generate, and when you put the whole picture together then it is clear why this is happening to you and why if anything it could get worse during the short term.