4 ms·
> The root cause is the system that is geared to keep houses always appreciating via supply constraints: aggressive zoning, discretionary permitting, NIMBYism.
by titzer 5y ago
> The root cause is the system that is geared to keep houses always appreciating via supply constraints: aggressive zoning, discretionary permitting, NIMBYism.
These are contributing factors, but the energy that drives the bubble is capital, and bubbles have a way of becoming self-perpetuating. When a bubble becomes critical, you can't "build out of it", unless you think you can actually produce 10% more houses in a year, every year!
- chipsa 5y agoYou can pull capital out of it by making it expensive to leave a home empty. Then capital will go where they can get better returns. Bonus tax when the average occupancy of the property drops below a certain percentage, say.
- titzer 5y agoPeople will just rent it. I don't know what the solution to the problem is, but I fear where it's heading. If people cannot get housing, anarchy and revolution are in the making. Then it's heads on pikes, French Revolution style.
- chipsa 5y agoYes. That's the point. People will rent it. Which means they need to be priced such that people can rent it. (If the rent is too high, people can't rent, which means it sits empty, which triggers the punitive tax). Lower rents will drive prices down, as people will decide to rent instead of buy for a while.
- titzer 5y agoI don't think the empty tax is a bad idea, but I don't think it will have a substantial effect.