Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Síða 14

Don’t Give Up!
It Is Possible!
Íslandsbanki’s tone-deaf housing loan campaign

Words: Paul Fontaine
Photo: Íslandsbanki
OPINION Last Monday, Iceland-
ers woke up to find that the front
page of the newspaper Frét-
tablaðið was now a full page ad.
This was not unusual in itself, but
the ad’s purpose ended up kick-
ing off a veritable cyclone of rage.
The ad was a part of a new cam-
paign from Íslandsbanki called
“It is possible.” This campaign is
aimed at young people—univer-
sity students and the newly grad-
uated—who are encouraged to
take out a housing loan and buy
their first apartment. For sure,
banks are in the business of get-
ting people to take out loans and,
as an increasing number of young
Icelanders are opting to leave the
country, the campaign is under-
standable on some levels. But the
approach inspired so much rage
not just because it was so de-
tached from what reality is like
for the average young Icelander,
but because the campaign itself
also undermined its own point.
Vísir, the news website sibling
of Fréttablaðið, devoted an entire
section of their site to testimoni-
als from young Icelanders who
had managed to buy their first
apartment. Here are some direct
quotes from these testimonials:
“Heiðar Austmann bought his
f irst apar tm ent at the age of
23 with help f rom his father.”
“He moved home to his mom, put
money aside, sold unnecessary
stuff, worked two to three jobs,
and saved to buy his first home.”
“By saving severely, working hard, and
assistance from family members, they
were able to buy their first apartment.”
“Jóra’s parents were moving out of
their home in Grindavík, and so
they decided to make the apartment
ready for Jóra and Arnar to move in.”
And so forth. As such, the campaign
could have more accurately been
called “It is possible if your family
gives you money or literally hands
over an apartment somewhere in
the countryside.” Íslandsbanki was
effectively not saying that it is pos-
sible for the newly graduated—al-
most all of them earning working-
class wages and with student loans
already to pay off—to buy an apart-
ment on their income alone; the
bank was confirming what Iceland-
ers already know: you simply can’t
buy an apartment without outside
help or sheer luck on your side.
The fact is, a recent financial as-
sessment from Arion Bank recent-
ly concluded that even the rental
market is severely constricted right
now. Anywhere from 50% to 75%
of available housing in Reykjavík
is currently swallowed up by Airb-
nb. The average rent in the capital
area has climbed by 11.5% in just
the past 12 months alone. In short,
renting in the greater Reykjavík
area is already difficult, and only
becoming more so. Buying real
estate is, for most young Iceland-
ers, completely out of the question.
While Icelanders raged about
this campaign across social media,
others have argued that technically
speaking, it is possible to buy your
first apartment. And they’re right.
Technically speaking, it is pos-
sible to buy your first apartment.
Just as, technically speaking, it’s
possible to train to be an astro-
naut. This doesn’t mean it’s going
to be a reality for most, or even
many, of Iceland’s young people.
14 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06 — 2017
Even when the on-screen graphics came perilously
close to his eyes, young Marteinn never gave up.
Words: Paul Fontaine
Share this article: gpv.is/tc06
TIME CAPSULE Hótel Holt, built in
1965, has changed little over the
decades. You can feel it the moment
you walk into the lobby, with its low-
slung ceilings, warm polished wood
walls and tiled floors. But if you want
to get real retro, you need to go to
the back-room bar.
The first thing you will notice
is the plush burgundy carpet-
ing, which feels like walking on
Tony Bennett’s voice. The walls
are positively covered with quick-
sketch portraits from famed Ice-
landic artist Kjarval. Many of
these sketches, drawn on pack-
ing paper back when Kjarval was
a young unknown, were donated
by the artist to the hotel’s origi-
nal owner. The chairs are leather
with suede sides. In fact, the only
indication that you aren’t in 1965
are the JPL speakers tucked dis-
creetly into the corners of the ceil-
ing, and the wifi router hidden
under one of the tables. This is
not a bar to go to do shots of Ópal
and pound pints of Víking. This
is where you go to sip a Tom Col-
lins and discuss postmodernism.
In a city where the bars increas-
ingly focus on volume of sales
over quality of atmosphere, the
bar at Hótel Holt is more than
a time capsule; it’s an oasis of
class in a sea of green cans.
Hótel Holt’s Bar
1965 is alive and well under the watchful
eye of Kjarval’s drawings
Not the kind of place for
rounds of shots
R E S T A U R A N T & B A R