Of course, the only unaffordable price is one which the market will not bear. Any price at which a market transacts is by definition affordable.
And herein lies the issue: everyone wants to live in Berlin, but not everyone can live in Berlin. Price is the mechanism by which we determine who values living in Berlin most.
You might not think it’s fair, but this is the reality.
The issue is that actually the prices are transparent and fair - at least I know and understand why I don't get an apartment that I can afford. The issue with government imposed rent control/caps is, that now instead of 50 applicants for an apartment which is priced at market rate, there will be 250 applicants to an appartment with capped rent - and there is no way for me to understand why I didn't get it. Do I need to be in the right party as the owner? Do I have the wrong skin color, gender, religion, country of birth to please the landlord?
High prices are only unfair at first look, but actually allocating scarce resources through market prices is a very fair and transparent mechanism.
Of course, the only unaffordable price is one which the market will not bear. Any price at which a market transacts is by definition affordable.
And herein lies the issue: everyone wants to live in Berlin, but not everyone can live in Berlin. Price is the mechanism by which we determine who values living in Berlin most.
You might not think it’s fair, but this is the reality.