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Dramatic increases in lifespan have produced a home owning class that would normally have died years ago, locking up a large chunk of the housing stock. Also NI

Dramatic increases in lifespan have produced a home owning class that would normally have died years ago, locking up a large chunk of the housing stock. Also NIMBYs.

s0rce 9y ago
It surprised me when I moved to the US from Canada how many elderly planned to stay in their homes. In Canada it felt like many people downsized to smaller condos, at least in the city.
- rpazyaquian 9y ago
  To be fair, moving is a pain, you'd be giving up an investment you've held for decades, and you may have settled down into an area and not want to move around. Plus, maybe there just aren't many other options where you live. I'm not elderly, but that's a few reasons why they wouldn't downsize.
- JBReefer 9y ago
  That's started to happen again in the US, but you have to remember that many US cities were fairly dangerous and neglected until about 20 years ago.
  - surveilmebro 9y ago
    Another factor that is present in some places (at least here in Seattle) is that certain regulations discourage condo construction relative to building rental units. Essentially, there is a stricter inspection process for any units that are to be sold. The law was well-intentioned, but has led to crazy things like 10-20k luxury apartment units being built per year with none of them available for purchase.
- klipt 9y ago
  In California prop 13 freezes property tax assessments at time of purchase, so many elderly people are paying less property tax on their house than they would on a newly bought condo.
  - jandrese 9y ago
    Prop 13 will go down as one of the biggest blunders in legislative history IMHO. I get the complaint that people were being taxed out of their homes and that's not good, but in the end it just shifts the tax burden from the old to the young.
    - pascalxus 9y ago
      And it's extremely Regressive. Out of 2 people who bought the same house, the guy who bought it 30 years ago, made 2 million dollars, but is taxed 10 times less!
      - lostapathy 9y ago
        I've always wondered why this can't be subject to a constitutional challenge under equal protection. If the main reason somebody pays less taxes is that they bought the house before you were born, that feels like age discrimination.
        wbl 9y ago
        They tried. It didn't work.
    - lostapathy 9y ago
      Total agreement here. Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations.
      - dragonwriter 9y ago
        > Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations. It's actually theft by corporate (or family chain) long-term property owners from everybody else; it doesn't favor individuals of particular ages (especially since the parent-child residence exception was adopted.)
        9y ago

Dramatic increases in lifespan have produced a home owning class that would normally have died years ago, locking up a large chunk of the housing stock. Also NIMBYs.

s0rce 9y ago

It surprised me when I moved to the US from Canada how many elderly planned to stay in their homes. In Canada it felt like many people downsized to smaller condos, at least in the city.

rpazyaquian 9y ago
To be fair, moving is a pain, you'd be giving up an investment you've held for decades, and you may have settled down into an area and not want to move around. Plus, maybe there just aren't many other options where you live. I'm not elderly, but that's a few reasons why they wouldn't downsize.
JBReefer 9y ago
That's started to happen again in the US, but you have to remember that many US cities were fairly dangerous and neglected until about 20 years ago.
- surveilmebro 9y ago
  Another factor that is present in some places (at least here in Seattle) is that certain regulations discourage condo construction relative to building rental units. Essentially, there is a stricter inspection process for any units that are to be sold. The law was well-intentioned, but has led to crazy things like 10-20k luxury apartment units being built per year with none of them available for purchase.
klipt 9y ago
In California prop 13 freezes property tax assessments at time of purchase, so many elderly people are paying less property tax on their house than they would on a newly bought condo.
- jandrese 9y ago
  Prop 13 will go down as one of the biggest blunders in legislative history IMHO. I get the complaint that people were being taxed out of their homes and that's not good, but in the end it just shifts the tax burden from the old to the young.
  - pascalxus 9y ago
    And it's extremely Regressive. Out of 2 people who bought the same house, the guy who bought it 30 years ago, made 2 million dollars, but is taxed 10 times less!
    - lostapathy 9y ago
      I've always wondered why this can't be subject to a constitutional challenge under equal protection. If the main reason somebody pays less taxes is that they bought the house before you were born, that feels like age discrimination.
      - wbl 9y ago
        They tried. It didn't work.
  - lostapathy 9y ago
    Total agreement here. Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      > Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations. It's actually theft by corporate (or family chain) long-term property owners from everybody else; it doesn't favor individuals of particular ages (especially since the parent-child residence exception was adopted.)
      - 9y ago