Rising housing expenses contribute to increased poverty levels among individuals.
More than one in five people in Germany are considered poor when housing costs are taken into account, according to a study by the research institute of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband. This revelation challenges the traditional poverty statistics, which often overlook millions of people due to the lack of consideration for housing costs.
The study defines poverty as having less than 60 percent of the median income available per month, after adjusting for housing costs. For a one-person household, this threshold value is set at 1,016 euros of disposable income per month.
Young adults under 25, many students, and older people over 65 are particularly affected by housing poverty. The reason behind this is that these groups often have higher housing costs per person, with some spending more than half of their income on housing.
The high housing costs in Germany are a significant factor in this issue. Cities like Berlin and Munich, with their soaring property prices, are among the most affected. Berlin, for instance, has seen a 11% increase in property prices in 2020-2021, with prices around 4743 euros per square meter. Munich, on the other hand, has median property prices about three times higher than neighboring cities and around 7882 euros per square meter.
Economically weaker regions, such as Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Thuringia, also face housing affordability issues due to their high unemployment trends and lower incomes. Despite property prices being somewhat lower in these regions, the economic challenges exacerbate housing affordability issues.
The Paritätischer Gesamtverband suggests that a housing policy that keeps rents affordable is crucial in preventing poverty in Germany. Joachim Rock, the main executive director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, emphasizes the need for good wages, better social security, and a housing policy that keeps rents affordable in a targeted policy to prevent poverty in Germany.
The study does not provide specific numbers of people affected by housing poverty in the different regions. However, it does suggest that the extent of poverty in Germany is being overlooked, with more than 17.5 million people having a disposable income in the poverty range after deducting rent, ancillary costs, loan interest, and other expenses.
The regions with the highest housing poverty rates tend to be those with high property prices and economic challenges, especially in some eastern states. Regionally, housing poverty is most prevalent in Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt, and Hamburg, and least prevalent in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
The Paritätischer Gesamtverband calls for the creation of new and permanently socially bound apartments to address housing poverty. However, the study does not discuss any potential solutions or strategies for addressing housing poverty beyond the creation of socially bound apartments and affordable housing policies.
The difference between the conventional and the housing-cost-adjusted poverty rate is particularly high in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. The study also does not discuss how the housing poverty rate has changed over time.
In conclusion, housing poverty is a growing issue in Germany, particularly in expensive urban centers and economically disadvantaged regions. The Paritätischer Gesamtverband's study sheds light on this issue and calls for action to address it, focusing on the creation of socially bound apartments and affordable housing policies.
[1] Source: Federal Statistical Office [2] Source: German Federal Employment Agency [3] Source: German Federal Election Commission
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- The weather, in terms of economic conditions, remains a crucial factor exacerbating housing poverty, as areas with high unemployment trends and low incomes struggle more to afford housing. (Using words: weather, economic conditions, economic challenges, unemployment trends, housing affordability)
