Topic: Are short-term rentals to blame for the lack of housing? (Read 797 times)

The Airbnb is a concern for the locals for sure, but only the property owners are making the big bucks. With the provided information I think you work on a company or something and for that you can't move out from that city. If the demand is high then the property owners to make significant changes and rent out the house to people who are willing to live for a long time. Higher payer are always welcomed by them. In a situation like this, people will only focus on those higher paying people.

The Airbnb is a concern for the locals for sure, but only the property owners are making the big bucks. With the provided information I think you work on a company or something and for that you can't move out from that city. If the demand is high then the property owners to make significant changes and rent out the house to people who are willing to live for a long time. Higher payer are always welcomed by them. In a situation like this, people will only focus on those higher paying people.

...My hometown barely has any houses available for rent, and every year it's met with the challenge of housing new university students....

I have little doubts that at some point on the future we may see another global crisis caused by real estate, since every single person needs a place to be and yet real estate prices have become increasingly high during the past decades, however I really think this is a bubble which could explode soon, as even if everyone needs a place to live, it is not as if people cannot find a way to make do without renting or buying their own property, and this could collapse the demand and the prices of real estate as well.

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?

The presence of many room rental applications is certainly the best way for those who want to rent out a room or house. It is natural that many people feel helped by these applications because they can choose the place they want. On the other hand, of course this is a problem for hotel owners which makes the occupancy rate become quiet.

In my personal opinion, I emphasize this, such a long term care of parents, leads to the development of "adult infantilism". in simple words - adult children can not become independent, and then, when they are forced to start living independently - for them it is a shock !
I am not against kinship relations, showing respect and love to parents.... But it is often behind it that children are not independent and are afraid to be responsible for their own lives....