over. there watching t w news coming to you from berlin i'll be back again at the top of the hour with another update for you i'm marian evans dean for me and the entire news team thanks for watching up next is business with stephen beardsley. literature invites us to see people in particular that i like to see as the kids find instruments grown up her. because. she does the books on you tube. to know that 77 percent obama because they are younger than 60 ah. that's me and me. and you

know what it's time all voices well part. of the 77 percent issue. this is where you. know 77 percent this weekend on d w. markets wake up to the final trading week of the year all eyes are on that trade deal between the u.s. and china but questions linger we'll take a look at the movers and shakers. also on the show rising rents have sparked anger in european cities from barcelona to berlin now real estate markets are bracing for the backlash. and we'll look at an extreme case of a rental market gone bad. old neglected buildings are at risk of collapse.

this is your business report i'm stephen bears in berlin thanks for joining us well many markets around the world remain closed for christmas asian shares opened on a higher notes day with optimism over a trade deal between the u.s. and china stocks japan's nikkei and the shanghai composite advance around half a percent each on wednesday both u.s. president donald trump and a spokesman for the chinese government signaled the 2 nations trade deal was ready for signing a so-called phase one agreement is expected to ease the friction that has roiled markets over the past year. it was one of the biggest stories in europe this past year rising rents investors desperate for yield in europe 0 interest markets cloud their money instead into urban real estate but property markets in big cities have tightened pushing up rents and threatening to push outs middle class families the counter reaction has been intense berlin is now preparing to freeze rents for 5

years beginning in january and some are calling for tougher measures. 5 tenants in berlin have been fighting for their rights last summer they led an initiative calling for the nationalisation of some of the property owned by real estate companies they wanted city to hold a referendum on the issue one 1st began with the team referendum question is based on article 15 of the german basic low it states the property may be transferred to public ownership for the purpose of socialization the article has never been invoked. via fear to shake in terms of history and basic low and also the market economy we see this is utterly unthinkable can we call upon the city government and the federal government to put an immediate stop to this whole affair. the german capital is witnessing a battle over affordable housing between tenants real estate owners and politicians there's an acute shortage of living space berlin has a deficit of tens of thousands of apartments. and speculation is on the rise. the

last decade has seen rents double. at the same time there's a construction boom entire neighborhoods are sprouting up like here in the district of prefix hine this housing complex is brand new tenants are paying up to 16 year olds per square meter a studio apartment costs 350000 euros making it financially out of reach to many but they are just and enough affordable apartments for rent owned by public housing associations like this one a 54 square meter apartment for $500.00 euros a month in the heart of the city a place like this will always attract a lot of interest there's like poured in 50 people sometimes have more than $100.00 any it really depends on like the location price everything culture used to it i used to live in paris and i thought 1st of paris what was difficult but now i know

it was easy and iris finding a balance is the motivation underlying this construction project at alexanderplatz in berlin the former east german house of statistics is a prime piece of real estate with a steady $50000000.00 euros it's undergoing an extensive renovation when it's ready it won't be a shopping mall or a luxury hotel it will contain $300.00 affordable apartments small businesses as well as facilities like childcare centers and studios for artists. the property was bought by the city and it is renting space to the district of mit is housing authority and an artist collective among others. property market is defined by profit but in this case that just doesn't work what we need in berlin is affordable housing but what's being billed as expensive if it goes on like this we won't have any culturally diverse spaces and not the necessary

social infrastructure we need to put a stop to the situation which is spiraling out of control. it was a lot of question political efforts must be made to ensure the market remains fair in berlin. and for more on this we go now to marcus burner she's a d.-w. correspondent for spain and portugal and he joins us today from his home in germany mark as we look there at a policy going into place in berlin you've looked at similar measures planned in spain and portugal how do they compare. well to give you an idea the pressure on the property market is still growing also in this been for example 800000 flights are designated to short term rentals such as air b.n. b. for example so the government there is trying to convince property owners to put their property on the market with a 20 percent discount getting. compensation but 6 months after

entering into force this program only 100 to less than $100.00 flights are in this program and in spain there are plans to put a rental cap but only plans because it depends on if in january we will have a left wing government formed by socialists and then you put down this party. we talk about spain and the possible rental cap is there also talk there of how the property market might change in the long term if rents are capped. well there is a lot of debate ongoing in both countries but especially in spain they are remembering their c.v. crisis the crash they had the 11 years ago on the property market and of course the fear that something similar could happen again is still remaining so the politics right now are focused on subsidies for younger and elder people to get

a apartment or affordable apartment but again there are plans and it depends on if there is a new government a leftwing government or not and marcus recently these are still increasingly popular policies with voters aren't they. yet of course because we have to just look at the development of the prices in the last 99 years less than one year 7 years prices went up in spain for example by almost 50 percent so government has to do something. or it is a ban of short term rentals or more public housing but of course the result. is the results they have their time to show up for you to be correspondent for spain and portugal marcus burnished thank you.

and now to india for another side of that recap question perhaps an extreme has seen a string of building collapses the most recent was last month when a 4 story building caved in killing more than a dozen people and despite the repeat tragedies many citizens continue to live an old dilapidated buildings there are at risk of collapse and landlords have no incentive to make repairs or endure correspondence on your fellow census this report for young people has lived here for much of her life this building a century old was built just as world war one ended in the one dream that yankee shares with the family cracks run through the wall. and bamboo sticks prop up the ceiling the monsoon rains make the structure riskier each year young pieces she's repeatedly complained to the landlord with little success. she did i was elated i

live in fear that the building will collapse my children are away at work all day so at least they're safe my husband and i stay at home we could be killed but the way i see it we're old we've lived on. leaving the place isn't an option for young whose family owns a modest living tenants like b. just $10.00 a month and some even less. that's due to a colonial era law that limits were installed buildings like this one but that also means owners get little money to invest in group is leaving the structures to rot many parts of mumbai. a home to old rickety properties. that are more than $14000.00 buildings in the city that would risk of collapse due to a lack of maintainance and government apathy. earlier this year a 4 story building collapsed at the spot killing more than a dozen people and injuring many more disasters of this kind on to uncommon in the

city. one buys chronic housing was also linked to its dense population and scarcity of land the city is surrounded by water on 3 sites and has no space to grow. more than 40 percent of its 18000000 residents live in slums and shantytowns experts say at the heart of the problem of the city's sky high real estate values and a powerful builders lobby. has sort of in the last 20 years for the situation. it would mean that there will be an option off a development. and also because then they have much on most of these buildings. the prices of. cities for young home is

a much loved but dangerous place option would be to get out and lead a much broader life in a far flung suburb either way it's not much of a choice. the market for luxury has picked up in recent years by some estimates a group 2 percent. interest rates some are even borrowing to enter the market. the trained eye can spot it the connoisseur knows it immediately this stone is pricey. potentially flawless it's vs one but it can be republished. as the estimate is 1.82.8000000. it's one of many pieces to change hands at sotheby's auction house this year this faberge egg from 1903 went under the hammer for just shy of half a $1000000.00 the market for precious jewels is alive and well and is worth of

a 6000000000 euros a year precious stones and high end jewelry are regarded as the perfect investments if there's been a professional assessment to determine origin and value chinese and americans were the main players entering the market last year who wears the baubles is another question some super rich decorate their dogs with them others lock them away in safes until they're ready to put them back under the hammer. and that's it from me and the business team here in berlin you can find out more about these and other business stories online at www dot com slash business and to follow us on facebook or twitter i'm stephen beard so for.

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