Die Wohnungsfrage abseits der Metropolen: Wohnen in Salzburg zwischen touristischer Nachfrage und Finanzanlagen

Abstract

Abstract. The housing question is a topic of increasing concern in a number of European cities. Rising housing costs burden many households. Since the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008, housing has increasingly come under spotlight of investors. Institutional and private actors invest in real estate not only in metropolitan areas but also in middle and small-sized towns. Tourism-induced demand increases the pressure on housing markets particularly in tourist-dominated cities. The manifestation of these processes varies on a small scale and is influenced by regional-local planning and politics. Based on the example of the city of Salzburg, the article shows that the housing question manifests itself strongly aside metropolises as well. Financial investments by private and institutional actors in real estate and different forms of tourism demand exacerbate the housing shortage. By linking the discussions about the effects of (mass-)tourism and financial investments on regional housing markets, this paper provides additional insights. The additional demand for (residential) space by tourism is used to increase or secure the return on investments in real estate. Financial investments in housing offer additional (problematic) potential for tourist use, such as short-term rentals. Owners benefit from both processes. Due to the prevalent power relations, planning and politics have little to counter the current challenges.

The Impact of Contemporary Housing Functions on Its Social Sustainability

“…One of these measures is to prioritize permanent housing function over touristic usage (e.g., Airbnb) or as second homes. In a study of the city of Salzburg, Van-Hametner et al [38] uncovered 17 percent of housing units being used alienated; political measures like registration, fixing a maximum number of permitted housing units to be used for touristic purposes, or introducing penalty fees, may alleviate this.…”

Contemporary Challenges and Future Strategies to Mitigate Social Inequality in Urban Housing: An Austrian Perspective

“…In the city of Salzburg, for example, about 4-5%of all housing units are estimated vacant (not occupied for one year at least) [11]. According to a recent study in Salzburg [12], the touristic use of homes is another push factor that withdraws apartments from the housing market. The Airbnb platform offers 700 apartments, equivalent to almost 1% of the existing housing stock.…”

“…The number of urban second homes, utilized only for some weeks during the year (however, including a small proportion of apartments occupied by students), is significant in larger Austrian cities. The last national census of 2011 reveals 18.3% in Innsbruck, 17.1% in Salzburg, 15.8% in Graz and 13.7% in Linz [12].…”

Geografía, cambio global y sostenibilidad. Comunicaciones del XXVII Congreso de la Asociación Española de Geografía. Tomo IV. Innovación e inteligencia territorial

“…En los últimos años, observamos el regreso de la cuestión de la vivienda en varias ciudades europeas ( Van-Hametner et al, 2019;Wolff et al, 2017). Eso también sucede en Alemania (Rink & Vollmer, 2019), donde muchas ciudades experimentan un crecimiento poblacional notable.…”