
Stockholm's 20-year waiting lists for rent-controlled housing - pmcpinto
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160517-this-is-one-city-where-youll-never-find-a-home
======
rhblake
Article seems to fail to mention that the majority of apartments in Stockholm
(55% in 2014, more now) are in housing cooperatives ("bostadsrätt" \-- in
practice like a condo but not quite [Swedish compromise]).

For a lot of people it's the normal - and indeed only - way to get an
apartment in Stockholm. And it's actually not difficult to get one in the city
_if_ you're a Swede with a decent salary (meaning you can get a mortgage
loan). (I.e., just about any IT salary.)

"Like many foreigners, she’s reluctant to buy, following a price rise of 14%
in the city in last year alone" \-- another way of seeing it is of course that
prices will probably continue to go up (they've certainly been doing that for
the last decades, this is no temporary bubble), meaning buying your apartment
can be a good investment.

People having been worrying about rising prices since... a long time.

If you were unlucky enough to buy your apartment in Stockholm city at the
"peak" in 2007, right before the prices went down slightly during the
financial meltdown of 2008, it'd still have increased in value with about 60%
by now. Meaning if you sold it today, you would have essentially lived for
free and quite possibly earned some money on top. Whereas had you rented, you
would've paid say 864000 SEK (~92000 EUR) during those years for an 8000 SEK
per month rental.

Apartments in the city have historically not been a a risky investment; I know
which one of renting vs. buying that I'd choose.

Not saying that all is fine. There are many good reasons why one might not
want to (or can't) buy an apartment, and in those cases the situation can be
very tough indeed.

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tehabe
It really seems that you either have extremely high rents which almost nobody
can pay. Or low rents but no housing.

I think neither is a good housing policy.

~~~
raldi
Or, if you build lots of housing, then you can get moderate rents, no waiting
lists, and no exclusivity.

~~~
IndianAstronaut
Amazing how policy makers fail to grasp basic supply and demand.

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fapjacks
My wife has been on the list since she was born 27 years ago. I don't
particularly have a problem with the system. It's Stockholm. Either this way
and reasonable rent, or rent would be totally fuckin' crazy.

~~~
mywittyname
I prefer this system too. Forcing people out by jacking up rent prices is the
capitalist's solution, but not a good solution when applied to housing, IMHO.
Why should people who've lived their entire life in a region be forced out
because somebody with more money comes along? You can't pay a bunch of money
and force a poorer person out of the hospital.

"Sorry, but we're full" is a completely valid response if maintaining
affordable housing is more important than accommodating fervorous growth.

~~~
jpttsn
> Why should people who've lived their entire life in a region be forced out
> because somebody with more money comes along

Why should a store that has had groceries all day be forced to give away their
groceries when someone with more money comes along?

~~~
cousin_it
Which of these sounds better to you:

1) Starving Alice buys a loaf of bread for 1 dollar and obtains 10 units of
happiness.

2) Rich Bob buys a loaf of bread for 10 dollars and obtains 1 unit of
happiness.

~~~
icebraining
Thing is, in this case Alice might still be starving because Bob got earlier
in line and went home with the $1 price-controlled loaf of bread, having saved
the $9 to spend on luxuries.

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jkot
While ago I wrote that Sweden is expensive country in decline (and was
promptly down-voted to oblivion). Similar queues are in health care, schools
and so on.

~~~
Numberwang
This rent controlled queue has been like this for a long time and will
continue to be like this. The problem is not new.

There are no queues in health care to speak of and schools are good and
available.

As I always say to you and others on the other very well off depressed mid 30s
persons who has yet to face hardship, try living in just about any other
country for a year and compare.

~~~
jkot
Waiting times for rent controlled properties are getting longer. There are
waiting times for medical procedures, those are also getting longer.

[http://www.thelocal.se/20150127/swedens-health-care-is-a-
sha...](http://www.thelocal.se/20150127/swedens-health-care-is-a-shame-to-the-
country)

[https://expathealth.org/healthcare-news/global-patient-
wait-...](https://expathealth.org/healthcare-news/global-patient-wait-time-
statistics/)

And please leave personal comments, you have no idea about my situation. I had
job offers from Sweden, but with children its simply not affordable.

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m00dy
Well, I live in Stockholm and I will need a house soon

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fennecfoxen
Truly, central planning at its most refined.

~~~
legulere
The free market also doesn't lead to more getting build in locations where no
space is left. Why are waiting times worse than extreme prices?

~~~
ChrisLomont
Because in the longer run extreme prices helps ensure new projects do get
started when possible, and that current stock is maintained.

Holding pricess below market rates helps ensure that over time current housing
will be less maintained as money goes elsewhere, and as current housing can be
converted into other more profitable land, it will be, thereby reducing
housing overall.

There are 100s of papers showing this, which is why rent controls being bad is
one of the things most economists agree on.

~~~
eldavido
...and it's happening. Quick googling can't track down a source, but I heard
somewhere reliable that housing starts are at a 9-year high in California.

Higher prices = more incentive to build. It's that simple.

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anonurban
They should build some more apartments.

