3 ms·
If this catches on, the biggest risk I see is that Point (and others appropriating this model) will artificially inflate home values while tremendously negating
by eganist 10y ago
If this catches on, the biggest risk I see is that Point (and others appropriating this model) will artificially inflate home values while tremendously negating potential upside for any buyers who buy with Point.
A home which might ordinarily sell for 400 might now sell for 480 because sellers can expect homebuyers to Point their way into affording more home, so might as well charge more for that home.
I don't see this ending well for anybody long-term except for buyers and investors who buy into markets before Point et al. catch on.
What's the expression? "It's expensive to be poor," I think? This seems like a perfect example. Buyers, especially buyers with less capital to risk, trade some immediate cost for a decent loss of upside and a decent gain of downside. Except because quite a few of these less-advantaged buyers could probably have afforded to eat the cost they sold to Point, sellers realize they can charge more to still make that money back from the buyers who otherwise could've put that money to better use.
Good lord, the more this stews in my head, the more this entire pattern seems like a massive disaster waiting to happen.
- clebio 10y agoIndeed. That description mirrors what seems to happen with subsidized drug costs due to everyone having health insurance (speaking of the US solely).
- eganist 10y agoHeh, I knew this pattern had emerged elsewhere but I was struggling to place my finger on it. Subsidized drugs are perfect analogs here purely because of profit potential. Subsidized food I don't think is as directly comparable for a variety of market reasons, but subsidized drugs are a harbinger of what's to come with Point.
- Harkins 10y agoThat's what mortgages and, really, all loans do. It's why wealth trickles up. The pattern you've recognized is a popular criticism of usury and capitalism in general.