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Forward to the Past: Short-Term Effects of the Rent Freeze in Berlin

Author

Listed:
  • Hahn, Anja M.
  • Kholodilin, Konstantin A.
  • Waltl, Sofie R.
Abstract
In 2020, Berlin enacted a rigorous rent-control policy: the “Mietendeckel” (rent freeze), aiming to stop rapidly growing rental prices. We evaluate this newly enacted but old-fashionably designed policy by analyzing its immediate supply-side effects. Using a rich pool of rent advertisements reporting asking rents and comprehensive dwelling characteristics, we perform hedonic-style Difference-in-Difference analyses comparing trajectories of dwellings inside and outside the policy’s scope. We find no immediate effect upon announcement of the policy. Yet advertised rents drop significantly upon the policy’s enactment. Additionally, we document a substitution effect affecting the rental markets of Berlin’s (unregulated) satellite city Potsdam and adjacent smaller municipalities. On top, the supplemental quantity analyses reveal a stark reduction of the number of advertised rental units hampering a successful housing search for newcomers, (young) first-time renters and tenants aiming for a different housing opportunity.

Suggested Citation

  • Hahn, Anja M. & Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2020. "Forward to the Past: Short-Term Effects of the Rent Freeze in Berlin," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 308, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wus005:7911
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jordi Brandts & Isabel Busom & Cristina Lopez-Mayan & Judith Panadés, 2022. "“Pictures are worth many words: Effectiveness of visual communication in dispelling the rent–control misconception”," AQR Working Papers 202202, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Feb 2022.
    3. Dolls, Mathias & Schüle, Paul & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2022. "Affecting Public Support for Economic Policies: Evidence from a Survey Experiment about Rent Control in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264060, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Jordi Brandts & Isabel Busom & Cristina Lopez-Mayan & Judith Panadés, 2022. "Images Say More Than Just Words: Effectiveness of Visual and Text Communication in Dispelling the Rent–Control Misconception," Working Papers 1322, Barcelona School of Economics.
    5. Trojanek, Radoslaw & Gluszak, Michal, 2022. "Short-run impact of the Ukrainian refugee crisis on the housing market in Poland," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    6. Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Limonov, Leonid E. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2021. "Housing rent dynamics and rent regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Rainald Borck & Niklas Gohl, 2021. "Gentrification and Affordable Housing Policies," CEPA Discussion Papers 39, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Fernando A. López & David Rey Blanco & Pelayo González Arbués, 2022. "Lessons from an Aborted Second-Generation Rent Control in Catalonia," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2008, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    First-Generation Rent Control; Rent Freeze; Urban Policy; Rent Price; Supply Disruptions; Berlin;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation

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