4 ms·

I can't read the article, but this appears to be hitting us hard here in Bend, Oregon. House prices were already high and only appear to be going higher. I thin

by davidw 6y ago

I can't read the article, but this appears to be hitting us hard here in Bend, Oregon. House prices were already high and only appear to be going higher. I think more people could be a great thing if we get them involved locally, and if we add enough housing to accommodate them, which is tricky right now. As someone involved with a local YIMBY group, it's tough to see the prices - it felt like we were making some progress in several fronts and then BOOM.

subpixel 6y ago
I'm in a part of New England I won't name where this is also happening. Here, it's a convergence of families from both coasts who are now supported by remote work and various wealthy families able to simply buy up real estate that suddenly looks rather underpriced compared to the Bay Area or NYC/Boston. (I say families b/c this rural area is not much of a draw for singles.) In September I called an agent the day a property hit Zillow and made an appt to look at 1pm the next day. At 10am the property had 7 offers.
iaw 6y ago
In 1978 California passed the ill-conceived Proposition 13 which encourages people to keep houses rather than sell them through lower tax rates for longer ownership. California has almost 40M residents and Oregon has a bit over 4M, even a fraction of those 40M going north to Oregon is going to overload the housing market there.
- davidw 6y ago
  Yep. Oregon has something similar in Measures 5 & 50, and it distorts our market as well. I follow CA housing politics fairly closely because, as you point out, they are important in Oregon too. It has been really dismaying to see them consistently fail to pass the kinds of reform they need.
  - chris11 6y ago
    Prop 15 and Prop 19 are on the ballot. I think those would reduce market distortions if they pass.
  - notJim 6y ago
    I think Oregon has done better than California in this regard, hasn't it, with the ban on single-family zoning?
    - davidw 6y ago
      Yes we have! HB 2001. One of my prouder YIMBY moments was turning out a bunch of people to speak with our state representative in support, on a weekday morning.
- pkaye 6y ago
  > even a fraction of those 40M going north to Oregon is going to overload the housing market there. Oregon just needs to build more housing.
  - davidw 6y ago
    Anyplace that people want to live should build more housing of all shapes and sizes - and not artificially restrict housing options with zoning.
    - rsync 6y ago
      "Anyplace that people want to live should ..." ... democratically decide their own course of action with regard to housing, zoning, etc.
      - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        There's the view that its an intrusion on personal liberty and choice. Should they also democratically decide what car you should drive? What to name your kids? Democracy is another kind of oppression, when taken too far.
        rsync 6y ago
        "Should they also democratically decide what car you should drive?" It depends. Most western european countries have fairly strict regulations on maintenance, road-worthiness, emissions and sound. Here in California we have relatively strict emissions regulations. These regulations were, essentially, decided by a democratic process. Presumably if they attempted to regulate color it would fail at the polls.
      - davidw 6y ago
        Exclusionary zoning is basically what they came up with when the Supreme Court decided that you couldn't straight up exclude non-white people.
notJim 6y ago
I looked a bit at moving to Bend a couple years ago, and already at that point it was getting a little rich for me (also wanting to be close in town). Can't imagine what it's like now.
gregkerzhner 6y ago
Just out of curiosity, how long have you been in Bend? My wife was born and raised in Bend and left in her mid 20s. Due to our out of state license plates and IDs she gets a fair amount of "please don't move here you out-of-stater" gruff, and it always feels silly coming from folks that themselves moved here for exact same reasons that the newcomers are flocking now.
- davidw 6y ago
  A bit more than 5 years. And yes, there's this inane mentality that goes around about 'the new people ruining everything'. I get that attitude from someone who had relatives in the area in 1491, but from someone who moved here not that long ago, it's silly. I think Bend's a better place than when I was growing up on the other side of the mountains. More opportunities, more things to do, even some local tech companies.

by davidw 6y ago

subpixel 6y ago

I'm in a part of New England I won't name where this is also happening. Here, it's a convergence of families from both coasts who are now supported by remote work and various wealthy families able to simply buy up real estate that suddenly looks rather underpriced compared to the Bay Area or NYC/Boston. (I say families b/c this rural area is not much of a draw for singles.) In September I called an agent the day a property hit Zillow and made an appt to look at 1pm the next day. At 10am the property had 7 offers.

iaw 6y ago

In 1978 California passed the ill-conceived Proposition 13 which encourages people to keep houses rather than sell them through lower tax rates for longer ownership. California has almost 40M residents and Oregon has a bit over 4M, even a fraction of those 40M going north to Oregon is going to overload the housing market there.

davidw 6y ago
Yep. Oregon has something similar in Measures 5 & 50, and it distorts our market as well. I follow CA housing politics fairly closely because, as you point out, they are important in Oregon too. It has been really dismaying to see them consistently fail to pass the kinds of reform they need.
- chris11 6y ago
  Prop 15 and Prop 19 are on the ballot. I think those would reduce market distortions if they pass.
- notJim 6y ago
  I think Oregon has done better than California in this regard, hasn't it, with the ban on single-family zoning?
  - davidw 6y ago
    Yes we have! HB 2001. One of my prouder YIMBY moments was turning out a bunch of people to speak with our state representative in support, on a weekday morning.
pkaye 6y ago
> even a fraction of those 40M going north to Oregon is going to overload the housing market there. Oregon just needs to build more housing.
- davidw 6y ago
  Anyplace that people want to live should build more housing of all shapes and sizes - and not artificially restrict housing options with zoning.
  - rsync 6y ago
    "Anyplace that people want to live should ..." ... democratically decide their own course of action with regard to housing, zoning, etc.
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      There's the view that its an intrusion on personal liberty and choice. Should they also democratically decide what car you should drive? What to name your kids? Democracy is another kind of oppression, when taken too far.
      - rsync 6y ago
        "Should they also democratically decide what car you should drive?" It depends. Most western european countries have fairly strict regulations on maintenance, road-worthiness, emissions and sound. Here in California we have relatively strict emissions regulations. These regulations were, essentially, decided by a democratic process. Presumably if they attempted to regulate color it would fail at the polls.
    - davidw 6y ago
      Exclusionary zoning is basically what they came up with when the Supreme Court decided that you couldn't straight up exclude non-white people.

notJim 6y ago

I looked a bit at moving to Bend a couple years ago, and already at that point it was getting a little rich for me (also wanting to be close in town). Can't imagine what it's like now.

gregkerzhner 6y ago

Just out of curiosity, how long have you been in Bend? My wife was born and raised in Bend and left in her mid 20s. Due to our out of state license plates and IDs she gets a fair amount of "please don't move here you out-of-stater" gruff, and it always feels silly coming from folks that themselves moved here for exact same reasons that the newcomers are flocking now.

davidw 6y ago
A bit more than 5 years. And yes, there's this inane mentality that goes around about 'the new people ruining everything'. I get that attitude from someone who had relatives in the area in 1491, but from someone who moved here not that long ago, it's silly. I think Bend's a better place than when I was growing up on the other side of the mountains. More opportunities, more things to do, even some local tech companies.