The mantra of ‘build, build, build’ misses something crucial: that few can afford these new homes

Housing costs across Europe have become a growing burden for many households, both for those trying to buy and those trying to rent. Over the past decade, property prices have surged faster than incomes in many European countries. The same is true for rents, which have increased exponentially in large cities but have also increased substantially in suburban areas and smaller university towns.

Given how much housing costs affect Europeans’ quality of life, it is comparatively absent from the agenda of progressive political parties. When politicians do emphasise housing, the focus is usually solely on building more houses. Former German chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example, promised to build 400,000 new homes in Germany every year – a goal his government failed to reach by some distance. At the same time, far-right parties such as the Freedom party (PVV) in the Netherlands or Chega in Portugal have made the housing affordability crisis into a campaign issue. Their equation is simple: housing should be available and affordable only for nationals.