BrickTamland
Well-known member
Staff are fantastic. I do tours around Stockholm, including dropping by there for a sample of beer and they couldn’t be more helpful. Simply a must if in this part of the world
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[Finance] Rental price freezing.
- Thread starter AmexRuislip
- Start date
Staff are fantastic. I do tours around Stockholm, including dropping by there for a sample of beer and they couldn’t be more helpful. Simply a must if in this part of the world
Machiavelli
Well-known member
Wrong-Direction
Well-known member
- Mar 10, 2013
- 13,422
Machiavelli
Well-known member
Sounds about right. Was the economist Patrick Minford?
Baldseagull
Well-known member
Housing should not be a free market, and it isn't, but it is a little too free here at the moment.
beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 35,310
Machiavelli
Well-known member
Interesting, and Krugman certainly carries some weight. Yes, too American. And a while ago too. Somewhat challenged by this too:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47028342
- Apr 5, 2014
- 23,572
I think you hoisted by your own petard on that one my friend.
I fail to see what is wrong in expressing concern about families being forced to move away from their settled life by rising property prices.
Your response suggests that 'generation rent' are somehow bitter losers rather than folk who have been disadvantaged by the coarseness of modern economics.
I'm always bemused by the 'leftie' tag. It's often attacked by folk who then moan about a failing NHS and lack of government provision. Our society is underpinned by socialist values that, strangely, those who oppose in clanging tone are among the first to complain about their erosion.
Tokyohands
Well-known member
If rents are to be capped then building sale prices need to be capped too otherwise it just won't work.
Tokyohands
Well-known member
But anyway I've got some places I rent out in Ireland and my rule is I don't jack the rent up on an existing tenant if they want to stay on and i'm happy for them to stay. I've kept the rent frozen on 1 place for 4 years as she's a great tenant but when someone moves out I reassess and market around the going rate but open to discussion if needs be. For me it's more important to have a decent tenant in for a long time who looks after the place, as i'm not in it for short term gain.
Same here, I have several rental properties in Las Vegas and as long as they pay there rent on time and look after the place I never raise it. Good tenants are the key. That being said, I’ve had a tenant who turned my house into a meth lab, that was an expensive fix.
So Germany and Sweden, two of the “better” economies in Europe both have rent controls. I have just been reading up on the Swedish economy and there now seems to be a healthy mix of free market and state intervention. Similar to Germany in some ways.
- Apr 5, 2014
- 23,572
Makes sense. Gives security both ways.
I rent and have discovered how greedy some local landlords are. Some advertise properties asking for silly rent. I used to take great pleasure in seeing some properties still sitting there vacant a couple of months later.
wakeytom
New member
Having recently visited Berlin for the first time (and a city I fell in love with immediately) around housing I was surprised by a few things. Firstly we stayed out of the traditional tourist area and I did notice that there were very few estate/lettings agents. That said where we were in Friedrichshain and I did notice quite a few banners draped from balconies (from what I assumed were flats and certainly not new builds) with slogans about how much prices have increased recently in the area to rent. Does the cap only apply to areas of Berlin?
The legislation is city wide; but does not include new builds.
Friedrichshain has traditionally been an area of squats, low rent and activism. This is probably why it’s been the last of the central Eastern areas of the city to be affected by gentrification. And also probably why you see the most visible protests. It’s also a fun night out.
wakeytom
New member
I did wonder if that was the case about the area - we went to bar called Supermolly which was like no-other i had visited before. The majority of people drinking there did not pay as they lived above and did things for the general cause of the property/community.
We did find some great nightspots in and around the area however number 1 on my list was unobtainable thanks to a outstretched arm to the left saying I was not to enter without any spoken word and a walk down a well trodden path by many
As someone who probably falls within 'generation rent' - I completely agree (unsurprisingly) with seeing anything wrong with expressing concern about people being forced to move away from where they grew up. In fact, for me i'd be worse off financially when I considered it.
I'm in the process of buying my first home, and have (for the last few years) had numerous people asking me why I don't consider buying somewhere more affordable like Newhaven or Littlehampton. After adding on £200 a month on for a season ticket to get to work (central Brighton), and i'd actually be worse off everything considered financially given the smaller difference in mortgage repayments. Some may suggest getting a job in one of those areas - but as we all know, if you work in a specific 'field' those jobs often don't even exist.
As someone who can completely sympathise with almost everyone I know struggling to either get out of rented accommodation (or onto the property ladder) - I think the most frustrating thing for us is the lack of affordable new housing for first time buyers. One example, the new flats in Shoreham/A259, where the cheapest 1 bed starts at £260,000.
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,830
I agree but also disagree. Housing is a basic necessity for most people, so there needs to be some significant oversight from the government. Historically, the government have favoured policies that keep homeowners happy, since those are the vast majority of voters. Hence you end up with policies that increase the 'value' of people's property. If your house is worth loads more than you paid, you are generally happy (odd really, since you can't unlock that value without downsizing!).
The policies for housing are an utter disaster in this country. They government surely know that most of their 'help to buy' policies are simply driving prices UP. They can't be so naïve to believe otherwise.
We need some sort of incentive to stop people from land banking and we need to speed up the planning processes. I genuinely think the government need to be building a lot of houses as private enterprise is ALWAYS going to keep supply low to make greater profits. The reality is that the 'free market' won't make some building company come in and rapidly expand by severely undercutting other builders. There is no point - it's just additional risk with less profit per unit. They don't need to do that, there is so much demand they can keep doing what they're doing.
Farce. God knows what happens over the next 10 years when a LOT more voters don't have property of their own.
darkwolf666
Well-known member
Because it's not a free market it's subsidised by taxpayers in the form of housing benefit