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Do you think people should be able to buy affordable homes? Isn't affordability affected when you are competing with companies with deep pockets? When those com

Do you think people should be able to buy affordable homes? Isn't affordability affected when you are competing with companies with deep pockets? When those companies need ROI do you think they will prioritize housing affordability over profitability?

tptacek 5y ago
I'm not sure how much I care about whether people own or rent. The politics of the place I live are controlled by owners and are renter-hostile; I don't think increasing the rental stock is a bad thing, and am inclined to believe --- without making any value judgement about REITs and Blackrock ---- that it's probably a net positive. The compulsion to own homes and tie people's finances to the real estate market is a US idiosyncrasy. It's not, for instance, how they do it in much of Europe.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- stagger87 5y ago
  Increasing the rental stock in an area of low rental units is one thing, but is not what the article is discussing. I'm not sure the relevance of the European housing market.
  - tptacek 5y ago
    I don't understand the moral valence of an imbalance (in any sense) between owner-occupied and rented housing. Could you help me see where you're coming from here? I bring up Europe just to observe that it's not a settled norm, even in rich western societies, that homeownership is somehow better or prosocial.
    - stagger87 5y ago
      > Could you help me see where you're coming from here? I like affordable housing and think everyone should be entitled to it. Whether renting or to own.
      - tptacek 5y ago
        Right, but this doesn't change that; in fact, increased rental stock probably increases affordability, both directly and in a bunch of knock-on ways involving zoning and variance decisions.
        stagger87 5y ago
        The article is about investment companies purchasing houses at a premium driving up the cost of ownership and renting. The article provides examples of this, not just speculation. People are seeing this happen in their communities, including my own, so I don't think it's enough to say "probably increases affordability". If you weren't able to read the article because of the paywall, see link below. https://archive.is/aBK10 https://archive.is/aBK10
        tptacek 5y ago
        I've read the article (again) and I don't see it providing examples of these firms having a significant impact on rent; if I then go to one of the large firms they link to (Invitation Homes) and look at their rental stock in my area, it's not only broadly in line with what home rental prices are, but the numbers are roughly where they were 5 years ago, too.
        stagger87 5y ago
        This article is linked in the main article which talks about the rising rental rates. Invitation homes talked about in the article is owned by Blackrock. https://archive.is/JgQwb https://archive.is/JgQwb That is incredible that your rental prices have remained roughly the same over the last 5 years. Invitation homes is also in my area (PNW) and yes, checking their website, their rates are in line with other rates in the area... except... these are rates which have grown 10% YOY for the past 8 years. It's the same story for the cost of homes. I sold my home this year for 50% more than what I paid for it exactly 4 years ago. Rent for homes in that neighborhood (identical homes) went from 1700 to 2700 (60%) in that same timeframe. If anything, hopefully we can realize that we live in drastically different housing markets and that affects our opinions on the subject.

tptacek 5y ago

I'm not sure how much I care about whether people own or rent. The politics of the place I live are controlled by owners and are renter-hostile; I don't think increasing the rental stock is a bad thing, and am inclined to believe --- without making any value judgement about REITs and Blackrock ---- that it's probably a net positive. The compulsion to own homes and tie people's finances to the real estate market is a US idiosyncrasy. It's not, for instance, how they do it in much of Europe.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
stagger87 5y ago
Increasing the rental stock in an area of low rental units is one thing, but is not what the article is discussing. I'm not sure the relevance of the European housing market.
- tptacek 5y ago
  I don't understand the moral valence of an imbalance (in any sense) between owner-occupied and rented housing. Could you help me see where you're coming from here? I bring up Europe just to observe that it's not a settled norm, even in rich western societies, that homeownership is somehow better or prosocial.
  - stagger87 5y ago
    > Could you help me see where you're coming from here? I like affordable housing and think everyone should be entitled to it. Whether renting or to own.
    - tptacek 5y ago
      Right, but this doesn't change that; in fact, increased rental stock probably increases affordability, both directly and in a bunch of knock-on ways involving zoning and variance decisions.
      - stagger87 5y ago
        The article is about investment companies purchasing houses at a premium driving up the cost of ownership and renting. The article provides examples of this, not just speculation. People are seeing this happen in their communities, including my own, so I don't think it's enough to say "probably increases affordability". If you weren't able to read the article because of the paywall, see link below. https://archive.is/aBK10 https://archive.is/aBK10
        tptacek 5y ago
        I've read the article (again) and I don't see it providing examples of these firms having a significant impact on rent; if I then go to one of the large firms they link to (Invitation Homes) and look at their rental stock in my area, it's not only broadly in line with what home rental prices are, but the numbers are roughly where they were 5 years ago, too.
        stagger87 5y ago
        This article is linked in the main article which talks about the rising rental rates. Invitation homes talked about in the article is owned by Blackrock. https://archive.is/JgQwb https://archive.is/JgQwb That is incredible that your rental prices have remained roughly the same over the last 5 years. Invitation homes is also in my area (PNW) and yes, checking their website, their rates are in line with other rates in the area... except... these are rates which have grown 10% YOY for the past 8 years. It's the same story for the cost of homes. I sold my home this year for 50% more than what I paid for it exactly 4 years ago. Rent for homes in that neighborhood (identical homes) went from 1700 to 2700 (60%) in that same timeframe. If anything, hopefully we can realize that we live in drastically different housing markets and that affects our opinions on the subject.