By Tahiri Trillanes, Urban Alchemy consultant. Urban Planner and Master in Climate Change
In Mexico City, short-term rental technological platforms have revolutionized accommodation as an activity. However, amid their rise, the public narrative has been dominated by a growing concern: Are these platforms responsible for rising housing prices and displacing communities?
The most recent study by Alquimia Urbana “Analysis of the Impact of Technological Platforms for Eventual Tourist Stays on access to housing in Mexico City”, as well as the percentage of units offered on technological platforms (only 2% according to Inegi ) demystify this popular belief. Although technology platforms have been blamed for the increase in housing prices, the reality is that real average housing prices in 2024 are between 12% and 16% lower than in 2018, adjusted for inflation. This data suggests that the so-called temporary tourist stay service does not have the power to alter the city’s real estate market.
The root of the affordable housing crisis lies in a shortage of supply that fails to meet demand, and many experts agree that the factors limiting housing availability are not related to the entry of technological platforms like Airbnb. In Mexico City alone, a deficit of more than 200 thousand homes is estimated (I tried, 2020), which represents a little less than all the housing units in Campeche or Baja California Sur (Inegi 2020). Meanwhile, entire properties listed on Airbnb make up less than 1% (Inside Airbnb) of the total housing units of Mexico City (Inegi 2020).
Gentrification is a multi-causal phenomenon, and its main trigger in Mexico City is the lack of effective urban development policies and the insufficient supply of social housing. The affordable housing deficit has been a constant for decades, and the government’s inability to update the Urban Development Programs has allowed central areas (Roma, Condesa, Narvartes, etc…) to become spaces more focused on the upper-middle classes. and high, pushing other populations towards the peripheries.
The real solution to combat gentrification lies in the implementation of subsidy policies to build more affordable housing on central land and a regulatory framework that mitigates real estate speculation, rather than limiting the operation of platforms where eventual tourist stays are offered. It is necessary to confront the problem at its root: the lack of coherent urban planning and the need for social housing programs that offer real central housing alternatives to lower-income families.
Regulation as a necessary step towards balance
The regulation of platforms such as Airbnb must be done within a broader framework that not only addresses the possible effects of the eventual tourist stay service, but also promotes economic development and solves the affordable housing deficit. It is not about closing the doors to platforms that have proven to be economically beneficial – by generating a significant economic benefit – but rather about integrating them into an urban strategy that allows sustainable growth.
The General Territorial Planning Program (PGOT), for example, has not been updated for more than 20 years, which has left a regulatory vacuum in the city. Without a clear vision for urban development, the housing market has grown in a disorderly manner, which has facilitated speculation and limited the supply of social housing. The regulation of platforms like Airbnb must go hand in hand with updating these plans and programs, ensuring that both residents and visitors can coexist in the same urban environment.
Ultimately, Mexico City has a unique opportunity to take advantage of its tourist capital and, at the same time, address its housing crisis. The key is not to demonize the platforms, but to design public policies that promote the creation of affordable housing, update urban infrastructure, and welcome the innovation that technological platforms bring. This is so that citizens and visitors continue to benefit from this type of alternative accommodation which does collect taxes. Prohibitionist frameworks only encourage the black market for income via social networks, which do not pay taxes and operate outside the legal framework. With the right strategy, the capital can become a model of urban development where tourism and housing are balanced and even promoted sustainably.
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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