Don't be sorry; you know who deserves some blame, and hasn't been mentioned here? FOREIGN COUNTRIES/ INVESTORS BUYING UP REAL ESTATE IN THE UNITED STATES. There are no restrictions on that, and a foreigner cannot "own" real estate in Japan, China, or Mexico, to name a few. I've been warning about this for years, but what the fuck do I know? I'm just stupid-ass 'Bandit, who got arrested a bunch of times in my 20's, so my input is invalid.
Winston Churchill would be very upset to know he was a communist. What I've posted is nearly textbook Georgism.
https://fortune.com/2022/05/09/hous...-are-beginning-to-look-like-they-did-in-2007/ "Over the past two years, U.S. home prices are up 34.4%—including a 19.8% jump over the past 12 months." Later it says: "regional housing markets could be in full-blown housing bubbles. At the very least, many markets are priced exorbitantly compared to what local income levels can support....Florida Atlantic University researchers found every one of America's 100 largest housing markets overpriced relative to what economic fundamentals in the market would support. That includes 44 markets overpriced by at least 30% and 13 overpriced by at least 50%." Tragedy of the commons in the sense that those of us who are not sociopaths agree people need to be housed, and some people can't afford it, therefore we need affordable housing, but just not in my backyard....you're right, I'm using the wrong terminology here, but the objections to affordable housing seem to be...silly, mired in privilege, and horseshit. "People without access to a resource demanding access to abuse it"....seriously? People demanding their basic human needs met in the wealthiest country on Earth is abuse to you? Or the simple logic of "hey, maybe letting something that is both a fundamental human need and the financial cornerstone of the average household skyrocket in price unsustainably is a bad idea....AGAIN", if only because the last time that skyrocketing price sputtered out, it crashed the global economy, and doomed an entire generation to a diminished life in comparison to their parents... I'm glad you're secure and your situation is taken care of. Try and understand that's not the case for everyone, and you still have to live in a society with those of us who haven't been as lucky. Fuck, my parents had to start a funding thing at their church, because a 60-something year old blind man who lives in the shittiest trailer park I have ever seen had his rent double, and his fixed income simply couldn't sustain it....this happened the same WEEK his wife (also blind) died from complications from COVID-19. If you're the kind of person who thinks an elderly, blind widower can go fuck himself, because his need for an afforable roof over his head is "abuse".... I think part of the issue is a perverse incentive by local governments. My ex's property taxes were reassessed twice last year, because...higher tax revenue. Why would a local government want to suppress house prices, when they can just use the police to roust the homeless into some other jurisdiction, and hassle the poors until they move away?
Huh, well would you look at that: I'm not sure who exactly is disregarding your input, but (maybe shockingly, since we agree on so little) I fully agree with you on this. Individual homeowners shouldn't be blamed for buying a house that is within their budget. Investment firms (including foreign investment firms) shoulder the majority of the blame here. Why should an investment company, who is spending millions of dollars on rental properties, care if they need to outbid the local market by a few tens of thousands of dollars? It's a drop in the bucket. But it causes the entire local housing market to spike, since individual homeowners now have to outbid the investment companies. Frankly, some individuals are also causing this as they build their AirBnb empires. I think there needs to be some serious regulation on this. At a basic level, anyone owning more than 2 homes should be taxed very heavily on rental income to make it a little less profitable, and to shift that money into housing projects. The part where individual homeowners probably do deserve a bit of a side-eye, though, is this notion that affordable housing is fine, just not near me. The housing has to exist near someone. If you're so sensitive to this, then go buy 25 acres somewhere. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the, "I got mine, so fuck everyone else" crowd.
They’re finally relaxing rules about ADUs where I live, so it opens up possibilities for increasing density and economic diversity within existing neighborhoods. We just have to hope it’s more individual owners finishing out a little apartment over their garage and less slumlords cramming 6 sketchy shipping containers in a back yard and calling them luxury tiny houses or something.
Dude, I've been talking about this for several years now. I've posted links about the issue and talked about my own experiences dealing with it in my neighborhood as well as while I was trying to buy my house. Also, as much as people like to bag on HOA's, it's one of the few vehicles my neighborhood has to force them into maintaining the houses they bought in the development. My neighborhood is new. The oldest house is only five years old and every house bought by the foreign investors already looks like shit with unkept yards and zero routine/preventive maintenance done to the exteriors. I hate to imagine what these houses already look like on the inside.
My job is about as recession proof as you get. I work at a container terminal. If we stop importing/exporting my job is probably the least of my concerns. Inflation is just insane, i make good money, my wife makes good money. I really don't know how the average person lives. The entry level honda civic starts at 26k + tax, the absolute cheapest diesel pickup is 65k + tax, that is vinyl, single cab, 2x4, no options. My house that i bought 5.5years ago for 330k, which i over paid for is worth like 600k+ now. Every week my grocery bill is over 200.
this, 100% I agree with @dixiebandit69 here, and I'd go so far in as saying I don't think foreign companies should be allowed to buy residential property here. Let the people who live here buy those houses, and don't let big companies (foreign or domestic) come in and buy up large swaths of homes then flip them for a higher price to people who are eeking out a living. In this part of Texas, we have a lot of Wall Street places doing just that, as well as some chinese investment companies. It's driving the housing market through the roof. Then like Binary said, you have people who got their houses and are against affordable living being built next to them, as if they're exercising domain over that space. Like I got mine, fuck you then. These people are just assholes, plain and simple. Plus, as several people smartly mentioned earlier, we have all this abandoned office space that could be easily converted into affordable living, with some simple re-zoning. The cities just need to get over the red tape issues, and do what's best for humanity. But of course, when has what's best for the people ever taken precedence over "fuck the poor lol"?
yup, misspoke. My bad. The would have to do some infrastructure work to bring it up to code. I shouldn't have said it was "simple" but rather a much cheaper, easier, greener and more efficient alternative than building structures where non existed prior.
It can be a battle to do nice, upper middle class development, also. I can't tell you how many times locals have fought going from agricultural zoning to 40k sqft lots with $350k homes. And, that was $350k fifteen plus years ago. Someone always complains, always fights it.
So it's just a vague feeling of wanting me to be a socialist, and not anything specific I've actually written?
So, you're not only creating affordable living spaces for a bunch of people, but you're also creating a lot of job opportunities for middle class blue-collar workers... Yeah, I can see why we shouldn't do that.
Sir, if you think I’m going to just relinquish my right to shop at a Halloween Express for two months every year… Actually, that’s what I think. Take old malls and retail spaces and make them affordable housing dorms.
Specifically about 70% of your posts pertaining to anything regarding economics, social science, urban planning, politics, or governance.