Greifswald is fighting against a housing shortage: New concept for social rents!

Greifswald is fighting against a housing shortage: New concept for social rents!

In Greifswald, one of the up-and-coming cities in Western Pomerania, all signs point to change in order to meet the urgent need for affordable housing. The city council recently passed a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving the housing situation for citizens. How NDR reports, the city administration expects rents to continue to rise due to the continuous increase. To counteract this, an “Affordable Housing” working group has been set up to look at new solutions to the housing shortage.

A major challenge is the planned population development, which was already predicted in 2017 and whose after-effects are still being felt by the city today. Greifswald wants to create a total of 3,000 apartments by 2030. This is what the Integrated Urban Development Concept 2030+ provides for. The public discussion about housing construction has also activated local politics. A central element of the adopted plan is publicly subsidized social housing, which should cost a maximum of 6.60 euros in basic rent per square meter. Builders are also obliged to create every third apartment in new multi-storey buildings as social housing, which sends a clear message.

Political measures and orders

At the last meeting of the citizens, a total of 13 orders were passed to the city administration and the state government. These orders include, among other things, the city administration drawing up concrete figures on required apartments and social housing. Erik von Malottki from the SPD also calls for a rapid municipal action plan and a clear interpretation of new guidelines for alternative forms of housing and social housing. The dispute between the SPD and CDU over the cheapening guidelines for building land shows how complex and emotional the issue is.

As the Baltic Sea newspaper reports, the construction companies WVG and WGG are already active and are planning construction projects for social housing in several parts of the city. For example, 24 apartments are to be built on Einsteinstrasse and 49 on Gaußstrasse, while up to 100 units are planned at other locations. These planned measures are part of a larger effort to stabilize the Greifswald housing market and promote social mix.

Market developments and support

What is actually the cause of the rise in rents? According to current market research on BMWSB can be found, the general conditions for the real estate market have been positively influenced since 2022. Falling mortgage interest rates and a stabilization of construction prices have made construction projects easier to tackle. However, it remains to be seen how market conditions will develop in the coming years. The housing shortage must be addressed by 2030 at the latest by creating at least 3,000 new units.

The current situation requires decisive action so that Greifswald fulfills its task of remaining an attractive place to live combined with affordable housing. The citizens' initiative shows that the city wants to take decisive countermeasures to prevent the housing shortage from getting worse.