In most major cities, housing has become the defining economic anxiety of a generation. Home ownership rates among young people have fallen sharply across Europe and North America over the past three decades. The causes are structural: insufficient construction, planning systems that restrict supply, tax regimes that incentivise property as investment, and the decline of social housing. The consequence is that an increasing proportion of income is absorbed by rent, reducing the ability to save, invest, or weather financial shocks. The debate over solutions is fierce: some economists advocate deregulating planning to accelerate construction; others argue for rent controls and expanded social housing. What is common to most analyses is that treating housing primarily as a financial asset — rather than as a basic social need — lies at the heart of the crisis.

💡 Did you know? Amsterdam has had some form of rent control since 1917. Today, around 40% of Amsterdam's housing stock is social housing — one of the highest proportions of any major city in the world.