4 ms·

Presumably it should have made many o the old residents a lot of money, though, so it isn't all bad? The value of their homes increased threefold, after all?

ehnto 5y ago
I imagine they would have rather kept their town than a bundle of cash. If it's just a matter of shifting suburbs in a big city that's one thing, but people who choose a ski town to live in do it for the community and way of life.
- emteycz 5y ago
  So if they would've rather kept their town, why the hell did they sell?
  - ehnto 5y ago
    It's not an ultimatum where they had control over the outcome, the community was already changing around them, so they either live with inflated prices for everything and a fracturing community, or they sell and try somewhere new. You can see the writing on the wall in other words. You also have to be able to afford to not sell when where you live gentrifies, prices for everything go up, local taxes go up, restaurants get fancier, services cost more, groceries go up, if you were renting then you get priced out.
    - emteycz 5y ago
      Prices went up because real estate prices went up because people sold - not the other way around.
      - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
        When people don’t sell, market prices still go up: it’s called supply and demand, and in the situation you describe, there is very little supply.
        emteycz 5y ago
        But then it's the same people who wanted to "own their town" who are raising the prices for their neighbors, not some alien invaders pushing the poor locals away.
      - ehnto 5y ago
        What are you expecting to have happened? The town to get together and everyone refuses to sell? Like I said it wasn't an ultimatum people were given to sell or keep their town, it didn't just spring on them one day in a town meeting where they could vote to gentrify or not. Some people are going to sell because they're moving on, some people die and their estate sells, it's just going to happen. Over time more of them get sold to holidaymakers and investors, and you can start to pick up on what's happening, but it's not like you have personal agency over the problem anymore. You could refuse to sell, but your neighbor might not. Prices are going up, the town is changing whether you like it or not.
        emteycz 5y ago
        I don't expect anything, I just find the notion of selling without wanting to sell funny.
        ehnto 5y ago
        I guess I'm not sure what your point is then. Think of a young couple, new kid, want a bigger house in their home town, no longer possible because their wages at the ski lodge don't actually let them afford a home the size they need. They sell their current one and leave. I'm not saying feel sorry for them, just using it as an example.
        aahortwwy 5y ago
        Some friends in WA sold without wanting to sell. The market value of their home grew enormously, and with it their property taxes. They live frugally on a low, fixed income and eventually the tax burden grew too much. So yeah, they got a nice capital gain, but they had to move away from the home they bought as newlyweds and raised their family in. It probably would've been better for their children's inheritance if they hadn't sold the house, too. Shit happens, I suppose.
        kkjjkgjjgg 5y ago
        Sounds like shitty property tax laws. That kind of law is not normal in the rest of the world, afaik.
      - buttercraft 5y ago
        Prices also went up because the housing supply disappeared. There simply weren't any houses available to buy or rent for a while. People were willing to pay a ton of money for anything thay they could find. So, naturally, many land lords increased rent to force the old tenants out, and then rented to new, higher-paying tenants from out of town.
newaccount74 5y ago
That doesn't help families who want to stay in the area at all. If they don't want to leave, the increased value of their homes is worthless. It's worse because their kids can't afford to buy a home now and they have to leave.
mmaurizi 5y ago
Not if they're renters, or the children of current residents now forced to leave their hometowns.

ehnto 5y ago

I imagine they would have rather kept their town than a bundle of cash. If it's just a matter of shifting suburbs in a big city that's one thing, but people who choose a ski town to live in do it for the community and way of life.

emteycz 5y ago
So if they would've rather kept their town, why the hell did they sell?
- ehnto 5y ago
  It's not an ultimatum where they had control over the outcome, the community was already changing around them, so they either live with inflated prices for everything and a fracturing community, or they sell and try somewhere new. You can see the writing on the wall in other words. You also have to be able to afford to not sell when where you live gentrifies, prices for everything go up, local taxes go up, restaurants get fancier, services cost more, groceries go up, if you were renting then you get priced out.
  - emteycz 5y ago
    Prices went up because real estate prices went up because people sold - not the other way around.
    - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
      When people don’t sell, market prices still go up: it’s called supply and demand, and in the situation you describe, there is very little supply.
      - emteycz 5y ago
        But then it's the same people who wanted to "own their town" who are raising the prices for their neighbors, not some alien invaders pushing the poor locals away.
    - ehnto 5y ago
      What are you expecting to have happened? The town to get together and everyone refuses to sell? Like I said it wasn't an ultimatum people were given to sell or keep their town, it didn't just spring on them one day in a town meeting where they could vote to gentrify or not. Some people are going to sell because they're moving on, some people die and their estate sells, it's just going to happen. Over time more of them get sold to holidaymakers and investors, and you can start to pick up on what's happening, but it's not like you have personal agency over the problem anymore. You could refuse to sell, but your neighbor might not. Prices are going up, the town is changing whether you like it or not.
      - emteycz 5y ago
        I don't expect anything, I just find the notion of selling without wanting to sell funny.
        ehnto 5y ago
        I guess I'm not sure what your point is then. Think of a young couple, new kid, want a bigger house in their home town, no longer possible because their wages at the ski lodge don't actually let them afford a home the size they need. They sell their current one and leave. I'm not saying feel sorry for them, just using it as an example.
        aahortwwy 5y ago
        Some friends in WA sold without wanting to sell. The market value of their home grew enormously, and with it their property taxes. They live frugally on a low, fixed income and eventually the tax burden grew too much. So yeah, they got a nice capital gain, but they had to move away from the home they bought as newlyweds and raised their family in. It probably would've been better for their children's inheritance if they hadn't sold the house, too. Shit happens, I suppose.
        kkjjkgjjgg 5y ago
        Sounds like shitty property tax laws. That kind of law is not normal in the rest of the world, afaik.
    - buttercraft 5y ago
      Prices also went up because the housing supply disappeared. There simply weren't any houses available to buy or rent for a while. People were willing to pay a ton of money for anything thay they could find. So, naturally, many land lords increased rent to force the old tenants out, and then rented to new, higher-paying tenants from out of town.

newaccount74 5y ago

That doesn't help families who want to stay in the area at all. If they don't want to leave, the increased value of their homes is worthless. It's worse because their kids can't afford to buy a home now and they have to leave.

mmaurizi 5y ago

Not if they're renters, or the children of current residents now forced to leave their hometowns.