Rent control discourages downsizing, which has ugly effects on the housing market. If you've lived in a 2BR for 12 years while your kid grew up, you cannot rati

Rent control discourages downsizing, which has ugly effects on the housing market. If you've lived in a 2BR for 12 years while your kid grew up, you cannot rationally downsize to a 1BR. Why? Because the 1BR on the market has a higher rent than what you're paying for your 2BR. Same story with the taxes. You can sell your current place for top dollar and buy a smaller one, but you're going to take a huge hit on the new tax basis. A crucial component in freeing up housing is downsizing in later life, especially as we have the baby boomer generation starting to retire.