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Properties are being gobbled up for any price, sight unseen, by wealthy investors flush with cheap low-interest cash, based on their expected future cash flow f

by as367 5y ago

Properties are being gobbled up for any price, sight unseen, by wealthy investors flush with cheap low-interest cash, based on their expected future cash flow from renting to tenants. This is especially prevalent in the single family home market. Eventually only the super rich will be able to afford to own a home. Is this what the world economic forum meant by "You will own nothing and be happy."?

chrisseaton 5y ago
> sight unseen This is a weird phrase when you think about it. Doesn't unseen imply sight? What does 'sight unseen' mean over 'unseen'?
- Tsiklon 5y ago
  I think perhaps it implies that the person hasn’t viewed the property in person, over having just viewed the photographs provided on the listing. Someone who has viewed only the photos could be argued to have seen the property, yet still remain sight unseen of the property
- croon 5y ago
  I would assume the phrase originates from "sight" as a noun.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- throwaway9980 5y ago
  In this context sight has a couple of meanings. The first is like the sighting of land from a ship. The sight of the house is a glimpse of it. The second is simply the condition of the house. I might tell my kids, “I can’t stand the sight of your room right now.” Which means I am upset by viewing the condition of their messy room.
ppf 5y ago
Try explaining that to the "any death with Covid must be avoided at all costs" crowd. There is a good chance that the months preceding the global lockdown will mark the high point for all forms of progress on wage, wealth, and gender equality, and that the post-lockdown world will strongly favour the already wealthy and powerful. It really makes me mad how predictable this has all been.
- thnkOfT3hChild 5y ago
  In 2020 your post would be flagged. I wish our politicians could do statistics.
- api 5y ago
  We’ve been on our way there for a long time my friend. The downfall of the US middle class started in the early 1970s. COVID may have accelerated some of those trends, but on the flip side it also vastly accelerated telework which allows people to escape cities with insanely high costs.
  - ppf 5y ago
    >on the flip side it also vastly accelerated telework which allows people to escape cities with insanely high costs Not really. We aren't lucky enough to have space in our family home for an office for either my wife or I to work from home For that reason, I am very grateful that I work in a company that has allowed staff to work on site for the last year. I don't know what she's going to do when she comes off maternity leave. I'm sure that women less determined than her will just return to becoming the defacto childcare for the family. Teleworking will favour some and disfavour others. Edit: Your general point is, in my opinion, correct. Covid lockdowns have massively accelerated all that was going wrong, and stopped everything that was going right. Given that at least some forms of gender, wealth, and income inequality were previously going in the right direction, that is one of the things that has been stopped.
    - kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 5y ago
      > women less determined than her will just return to becoming the defacto childcare for the family. Don't discount those women who stay home to take care of baby. I know many women that, after having a baby, realize that they're in a situation that allows them to hang up the rat race and settle into a more simple life of raising a child. How many YT channels and IG influencers flout their "simple" life and people flock to them? Now imagine you suddenly not only have the means, but a really good excuse to simplify and focus on things that you've come to realize in the last year matter more to you than work. That's where many women (and men) find themselves these days, especially after having many previous leisure activities unavailable. Some have come to realize they really didn't find actual joy from those things, so they cut them out. And it's why the "return to work" stats for women will continue to be lower than expectations for a good while yet.
Guest42 5y ago
I find it peculiar that this part goes mostly unmentioned although it accounts for a large portion of the purchases (forget the numbers off the top of my head).
api 5y ago
It’s a big world. The best workaround for this is to move. Leave the overpriced cities and even overpriced countries. If enough people do this these rent seekers will not get a good return and will start unloading property. On a related note it’s important to fight for telework culture or this can’t work. Remote work could be the single best thing to happen for the middle class in a generation or two.
throwaway6734 5y ago
Move to places with cheaper housing
- dukeyukey 5y ago
  People are - there's a heatmap in the article of where house prices are increasing the most. Increases are highest in poorer, generally rural areas (central-North England, Wales, South-west England) and the least in the most expensive areas (London, South-east England, Oxford/Cambridge).

by as367 5y ago

chrisseaton 5y ago

> sight unseen This is a weird phrase when you think about it. Doesn't unseen imply sight? What does 'sight unseen' mean over 'unseen'?

Tsiklon 5y ago
I think perhaps it implies that the person hasn’t viewed the property in person, over having just viewed the photographs provided on the listing. Someone who has viewed only the photos could be argued to have seen the property, yet still remain sight unseen of the property
croon 5y ago
I would assume the phrase originates from "sight" as a noun.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
throwaway9980 5y ago
In this context sight has a couple of meanings. The first is like the sighting of land from a ship. The sight of the house is a glimpse of it. The second is simply the condition of the house. I might tell my kids, “I can’t stand the sight of your room right now.” Which means I am upset by viewing the condition of their messy room.

ppf 5y ago

Try explaining that to the "any death with Covid must be avoided at all costs" crowd. There is a good chance that the months preceding the global lockdown will mark the high point for all forms of progress on wage, wealth, and gender equality, and that the post-lockdown world will strongly favour the already wealthy and powerful. It really makes me mad how predictable this has all been.

thnkOfT3hChild 5y ago
In 2020 your post would be flagged. I wish our politicians could do statistics.
api 5y ago
We’ve been on our way there for a long time my friend. The downfall of the US middle class started in the early 1970s. COVID may have accelerated some of those trends, but on the flip side it also vastly accelerated telework which allows people to escape cities with insanely high costs.
- ppf 5y ago
  >on the flip side it also vastly accelerated telework which allows people to escape cities with insanely high costs Not really. We aren't lucky enough to have space in our family home for an office for either my wife or I to work from home For that reason, I am very grateful that I work in a company that has allowed staff to work on site for the last year. I don't know what she's going to do when she comes off maternity leave. I'm sure that women less determined than her will just return to becoming the defacto childcare for the family. Teleworking will favour some and disfavour others. Edit: Your general point is, in my opinion, correct. Covid lockdowns have massively accelerated all that was going wrong, and stopped everything that was going right. Given that at least some forms of gender, wealth, and income inequality were previously going in the right direction, that is one of the things that has been stopped.
  - kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 5y ago
    > women less determined than her will just return to becoming the defacto childcare for the family. Don't discount those women who stay home to take care of baby. I know many women that, after having a baby, realize that they're in a situation that allows them to hang up the rat race and settle into a more simple life of raising a child. How many YT channels and IG influencers flout their "simple" life and people flock to them? Now imagine you suddenly not only have the means, but a really good excuse to simplify and focus on things that you've come to realize in the last year matter more to you than work. That's where many women (and men) find themselves these days, especially after having many previous leisure activities unavailable. Some have come to realize they really didn't find actual joy from those things, so they cut them out. And it's why the "return to work" stats for women will continue to be lower than expectations for a good while yet.

Guest42 5y ago

I find it peculiar that this part goes mostly unmentioned although it accounts for a large portion of the purchases (forget the numbers off the top of my head).

api 5y ago

It’s a big world. The best workaround for this is to move. Leave the overpriced cities and even overpriced countries. If enough people do this these rent seekers will not get a good return and will start unloading property. On a related note it’s important to fight for telework culture or this can’t work. Remote work could be the single best thing to happen for the middle class in a generation or two.

throwaway6734 5y ago

Move to places with cheaper housing

dukeyukey 5y ago
People are - there's a heatmap in the article of where house prices are increasing the most. Increases are highest in poorer, generally rural areas (central-North England, Wales, South-west England) and the least in the most expensive areas (London, South-east England, Oxford/Cambridge).