An apartment block on a housing estate in Hamburg, Germany. Affordable housing was a key commitment made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition when it took power.
Photographer: Imke Lass/BloombergEurope’s Great Housing Crisis Is Only Getting Started
A collapse in home building threatens to intensify shortages for years to come
In a leafy neighborhood in Dusseldorf, Milena and Manuel David planned to break ground this summer on a new home, a milestone that was going to get them out of a cramped apartment where they share a bedroom with their two kids.
But during the 16-month wait for a permit, mortgage rates had tripled and their building costs rose by €85,000 ($90,000). The couple crunched the numbers again before facing the fact that their dream of building their own home had collapsed as part of Europe’s worst construction crisis in decades.