Prices have risen by 54% in the United States, 32% in China and nearly 15% in the European Union between 2015 and 2024. Though policies have been implemented to increase supply and regulate rentals, their impact has been limited and the problem is getting worse

Housing access has become a critical issue worldwide, with cities that were once accessible reaching unsustainable price points. Solutions that have been proposed, like building more houses, capping rents, investing in subsidized housing and limiting the purchase of properties by foreigners have not stemmed the issue’s spread. Between 2015 and 2024, prices rose by 54% in the United States, 32% in China and by nearly 15% in the European Union (including by 26% in Spain), according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Salaries have not grown apace with real estate prices. In the EU, the median rent rose by 20% between 2010 and 2022, with rental and purchase prices growing by up to 48%, according to Eurostat. Underregulated markets are wreaking havoc, and in the United States and Spain, 20% of renters spend more than 40% of their income on housing, while in France, Italy, Portugal and Greece, that percentage varies between 10% and 15%, according to the OECD. Many countries have created programs aimed at increasing the future supply of public housing, but their effectiveness has yet to be determined and analysts say that results will be limited if smarter regional planning decisions are not made.

  • where_am_i@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    I wanna see those college graduates struggling with the bills. I know artists, PhD students, unqualified workers and else who have this problem to some degree. I don’t know anyone with a college degree and 3+ years of private sector experience struggling. We can debate wth is with the stagnant real wages, but certainly nobody with a decent degree is struggling. Or only by choice.

    What I know contrary is people with any IT related degree, or businessy degrees, or STEM grads going into consulting, etc. And all those people earning enough to support a family of 3 way before hitting their 30s, yet being single and enjoying that income all by themselves . They then pay insane rents in the cities, travel, go out for dinner every other night, maintain some random portfolio of ETFs, buy groceries at organic-only groceries, and so on.

    So, yeah, wages been stuck for a looong while. But if you struggle to make the ends meet with a college degree it’s on you.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      if you struggle to make the ends meet with a college degree it’s on you.

      Counter example: teachers

      • where_am_i@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Good point, but as pointed out, private schools pay very, very well.

        USA is a bit of an outlier, in most others developed countries you’ll do absolutely fine even working in a public school. Not so much in the developing countries. But there private schools are even more widespread.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Yes, private sector too.

          • the vast majority of teachers are public sector
          • some percentage of private sector are parochial, who get paid less
          • most private schools are charter, where teachers are paid less
          • the remaining private school teachers may get paid more but are a small percentage, not representative of the market, nor accessible to most teachers

          https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/pay-salary/private-teacher-salary

          Private school teachers, generally, earn less than their public school counterparts

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Not really, no. Experience in one won’t count the same as experience in the other. Public school pay more attention to credentials and continuing development, whereas private not. It’s not so easy to jump between the two

              • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                I worked as a teaching intern at a private school. I talked to lots of teachers there. I have friends who are public school teachers. They’ve all worked in both. What you say is simply not true.

    • claudiop@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Hello. I have 4 years of private sector experience. Living with someone else who also does. Both STEM and paid above average for the place we live in (Portugal). Rent is half our bills.

      Living alone outside not in a cube and in any place that resembles a city is but impossible. 40 years ago we’d be higher middle class.

      • where_am_i@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        You live in a developing country that has “recently” ended a straight of dictatorship. Your previous government did everything possible to fk up your rental market to the point of it having one of the worst salary-to-housing ratio in the world.

        40 years ago you would’ve been unemployed cuz there was no private sector.

        At the same time, with your background you wouldn’t even need to move to Germany/France/Nordics to fix your situation. You could move to fuckin Poland and you’d get your housing needs sorted out.

        When I say “by choice”, for Portuguese folks it means staying in their country. You have an EU passport. Use it.

        • VARXBLE@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 month ago

          “Just move dude, trust me, one more move and this time you’ll find affordable housing. Yeah, just uproot your entire life and move all your belongs and family and its so easy guys. Just load everything on the metro that heads straight to Poland and you’ll be fine, you dumb idiot I can’t believe you haven’t thought of this.”

          Lol. Lmao even