In a new Novus survey carried out on behalf of Byggföretagen, young people state that the second biggest challenge after mental illness is the lack of housing. 37 percent of young adults feel worried about their housing situation in the future.
– This could have consequences, says Anna Boman, housing policy expert at Byggföretagen.
About one in four young people between the ages of 18 and 29 believe that they will not live as well as their parents did when they were 30 years old. And the concerns show that young people feel that the housing market is dysfunctional, which can have consequences, says Anna Boman:
– We must remember that it is a fairly large generation now that will enter the housing market and start starting a family. And if you postpone having children, wait to move in together, it can have major consequences for the entire society and for the demographic development. Rejecting jobs and studies affects growth and also gain.
In the survey, young people stated that they consider the lack of housing to be the second biggest challenge in society, after mental illness.
– There is a housing shortage, you feel that it is difficult to get hold of a home, but it is also the case that the threshold to enter the housing market has been raised, says Anna Boman, housing policy expert at Byggföretagen.
Lowered threshold to the housing market
The industry organization Byggföretagen estimates that housing construction will fall from 70,000 housing starts in 2021 to approximately 25,500 this year. The industry believes that more needs to be done from the political side to lower the thresholds into the housing market.
– We know that the majority of young people want to own and there is a ready-made proposal on the government’s table regarding start-up loans, which would lower the thresholds. Before the election, there were also many parties that promised to drop the stricter amortization requirement, and there are two measures that would make a difference here and now for young people’s opportunities to get their own accommodation, says Anna Boman, housing policy expert at Byggföretagen.
Wants to reintroduce investment support
But the Tenants’ Association believes that the government should instead reintroduce the investment support it abolished.
– It provided 51,000 homes with lower rent, but when the investment support disappeared, this construction crisis has deepened, says chief economist Martin Hofverberg.
He believes that the housing shortage and construction crisis will be exacerbated by the Construction Companies’ proposal.
– Making sure to increase indebtedness, instead of solving what is the basic problem – the shortage – is the wrong way to go, he says.
Once construction has started, the Tenants’ Association believes that it is possible to implement other reforms to make it easier for young people to get housing. Such as, for example, reviewing the queue system and increasing the housing allowance.