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The difference here is that London has a lot of foreign and domestic real estate "investors" that I'm pretty sure won't be happy with affordable housing for eve

The difference here is that London has a lot of foreign and domestic real estate "investors" that I'm pretty sure won't be happy with affordable housing for everyone. Who wants London's property market to crash?

TaylorAlexander 7y ago
“Who wants London's property market to crash?” People who value housing as a place to sleep rather than a financial investment.
- Aeolun 7y ago
  This should be about 100% of the voters right?
  - mjevans 7y ago
    Of those that can AFFORD to live in London? Seems unlikely.
  - dodobirdlord 7y ago
    No, not really. People who own their homes have a vested interest in prices rising, people who live in government-mandated affordable housing have no particular stake one way or the other, and people who rent at market rates often have low visibility into the fact that their rates are the result of a housing shortage and prefer to blame landlords for renting at prices the market will bear.
  - hopscotch 7y ago
    Most of the middle class and up in the UK have a significant chunk of their wealth tied up in property (their own homes, then investment property), so not really.
  - inflatableDodo 7y ago
    In the UK, since the early 1980's, it has been considered political suicide by a succession of both conservative and labour governments to not give money to the middle classes in the form of large increases in the value of their homes. This is one of the main reasons we have built about half as many houses as Canada since 1980, while having around twice the population.
    - ZeroFries 7y ago
      Wouldn't this only work as a method of increasing middle class wealth if you owned 2+ properties? Otherwise, you have to live somewhere. You can't sell your house and unlock that wealth increase without spending it all on the next place to live.
      - inflatableDodo 7y ago
        People became obsessed with their home valuation. How much more money your house was worth since you bought it became one of the main methods of social boasting for decades, regardless of whether you were actually able to really profit from any of it.
dublinben 7y ago
Current owners of scarce real estate wouldn't lose money if zoning laws were changed to allow more density. The land they own would actually become more valuable, as it could now have more units than before. Allowing more productive use of the underlying land is actually good for both the sellers and buyers of housing.
CydeWeys 7y ago
London now has more renters than owner-occupiers, so the answer is, most of London's inhabitants want property prices to decrease. This would make their rent more affordable and give them a better shot at transitioning from renter to owner (which is a goal of many).

TaylorAlexander 7y ago

“Who wants London's property market to crash?” People who value housing as a place to sleep rather than a financial investment.

Aeolun 7y ago
This should be about 100% of the voters right?
- mjevans 7y ago
  Of those that can AFFORD to live in London? Seems unlikely.
- dodobirdlord 7y ago
  No, not really. People who own their homes have a vested interest in prices rising, people who live in government-mandated affordable housing have no particular stake one way or the other, and people who rent at market rates often have low visibility into the fact that their rates are the result of a housing shortage and prefer to blame landlords for renting at prices the market will bear.
- hopscotch 7y ago
  Most of the middle class and up in the UK have a significant chunk of their wealth tied up in property (their own homes, then investment property), so not really.
- inflatableDodo 7y ago
  In the UK, since the early 1980's, it has been considered political suicide by a succession of both conservative and labour governments to not give money to the middle classes in the form of large increases in the value of their homes. This is one of the main reasons we have built about half as many houses as Canada since 1980, while having around twice the population.
  - ZeroFries 7y ago
    Wouldn't this only work as a method of increasing middle class wealth if you owned 2+ properties? Otherwise, you have to live somewhere. You can't sell your house and unlock that wealth increase without spending it all on the next place to live.
    - inflatableDodo 7y ago
      People became obsessed with their home valuation. How much more money your house was worth since you bought it became one of the main methods of social boasting for decades, regardless of whether you were actually able to really profit from any of it.

dublinben 7y ago

Current owners of scarce real estate wouldn't lose money if zoning laws were changed to allow more density. The land they own would actually become more valuable, as it could now have more units than before. Allowing more productive use of the underlying land is actually good for both the sellers and buyers of housing.

CydeWeys 7y ago

London now has more renters than owner-occupiers, so the answer is, most of London's inhabitants want property prices to decrease. This would make their rent more affordable and give them a better shot at transitioning from renter to owner (which is a goal of many).