Home exchange could relieve the rental market: How does that work?

The idea sounds appealing: if the apartment is too big for you as you get older, swap it with a family that needs more space. That could relieve the rental market. But does that work?

In the spring of 2021, Michaela Zischek had had enough: for months she had been looking for a new rental apartment in her neighborhood in the south-east of Berlin using the well-known real estate platforms on the Internet. Her wishes were not unusual, she just wanted a little more space than the previous 60 square meters. The then 36-year-old was pregnant and planning to move in with her partner. After no suitable and, above all, no affordable offer could be found, Zischek placed a classified ad in which she held out the prospect of an apartment exchange: She offered two rooms for 600 euros rent and with “the most beautiful wooden floor ever” in Treptow-Köpenick for at least three Rooms as close as possible to the previous apartment.

The response was tremendous. However: The majority of those who got in touch did not have a suitable apartment to exchange, but hoped to be able to secure Zischeks’ if they found something else. “Some of the letters sounded really desperate,” reports the political and communications scientist. “I found it hard to read all the things people have to do today to get an apartment because they don’t have a chance through the traditional channels.” Some wrote that her non-German-sounding surname completely shut her out of the already highly competitive rental market out of. Others offered Zischek money.