In Zurich, apartment-hunters take wine and chocolates to viewings to help them stand out from the crowd. In Amsterdam, university students are spending months trying to secure accommodation before terms starts. In Dublin and Lisbon, young professionals are giving up and moving back in with their parents.

Across Europe’s biggest cities, renters are coming up against a severe supply shortage that’s pushing prices to record highs. Surging mortgage rates have forced people to give up on property purchases, just as inflation increases the cost of construction materials, hampering supply. Government policies and post-pandemic work trends have pushed skilled foreign workers who can often pay more than locals to Paris, Dublin, Berlin and Lisbon, while the return of students post-Covid has pushed up demand in places like London and Amsterdam.