{"id":58105,"date":"2025-09-08T10:04:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludovika.hu\/?p=58105"},"modified":"2025-09-23T10:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T08:08:07","slug":"policy-responses-to-the-housing-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludovika.hu\/en\/blogs\/the-daily-european\/2025\/09\/08\/policy-responses-to-the-housing-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy Responses to the Housing Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Otthon Start and EU Cohesion Policy<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In Hungary, the\u00a0Otthon Start<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Programme has given a new direction to thinking about housing, making the acquisition of privately owned property accessible to many. This is one of the policy decisions that can be taken in response to the housing crisis. In this article, we examine how the European Union approaches this issue, and whether we can speak at all of a European housing policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing traditionally falls under national competence. The EU only plays a complementary and supportive role: through financing, recommendations, and professional coordination. At the same time, the second Von der Leyen Commission already treats the housing crisis as a high political priority<\/a>. One sign of this is the establishment of the energy and housing portfolio, headed by the Danish Commissioner Dan J\u00f8rgensen. The choice of person cannot be a coincidence, since Denmark performs outstandingly in housing indicators \u2013 between 2015 and 2023 housing prices rose by only 37%, and young people leave the parental home on average before the age of 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source:\u00a0<\/em>Age of leaving the parental home (2024)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing data reveal a strong North\u2013South divide. While in Northern Europe housing price growth was moderate, in many places in Southern and Eastern Europe prices have doubled. Similar differences appear in the age at which young people leave the parental home: in the North often during university years, in the South often only after the age of 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarming EU trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Eurostat data<\/a>, in 2023, 7% of rural households and 10.6% of urban households spent more than 40% of their income on housing. Across EU countries, between 2015 and 2023, housing prices rose on average by 48%<\/a> \u2013 mainly due to higher construction costs, increased interest rates, shrinking supply, and speculative real estate purchases. In Hungary, this increase was 173% \u2013 the highest in the Union \u2013 while in Finland it was only 5%, the lowest figure. Renting was also not spared from the trend: between 2010 and 2022, a growth of 18% was recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU\u2019s political response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

President Von der Leyen will deliver her annual speech to the European Parliament on September 10, 2025. According to the Commission\u2019s annual performance summary published on September 5<\/a>, tackling the housing crisis is highlighted in the introduction as a core European civic need, alongside inflation, cost of living, and energy prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Commission has set up the Housing Task Force, which is working on a European Affordable Housing Plan. This focuses on addressing structural problems and encouraging public and private investment. The situation is illustrated by several data points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n