Access to housing is becoming increasingly expensive in European cities. Since the onset of the global economic crisis, a growing number of people are burdened by housing costs or struggle to maintain access to decent housing. At the same time, real estate investments are surging. Home ownership is shifting from owner-occupied to real estate investment companies that rent properties for profit: real estate speculators.
Who are these companies in Europe? How many houses have they purchased? And how does this affect people's access to housing in our cities?
For more than 7 months a team of 25 reporters, data journalists and visualisation experts investigated real estate speculators in 16 European cities. Their investigation won the 2022 European Press Prize Innovation Award and received the IJ4EU Impact Award honorable mention.
Sotiris Sideris, data journalist and research coordinator for Reporters United, Greece and AthensLive, present their findings and methodology for collecting, analysing and mapping data for 2,296 auctions in the Municipality of Athens conducted between 2018 and 2021.
The presentation also features Jose Miguel Calatayud, co-initiator of the Cities for Rent investigation, which he launched and coordinated as part of his work with Arena for Journalism in Europe.
