5 ms·

Aside from all the hypocrisy etc... isn't this concept just plain wrong? Doesn't more housing + business increase the property value of an area? I could see the

Aside from all the hypocrisy etc... isn't this concept just plain wrong? Doesn't more housing + business increase the property value of an area? I could see the first-order effects being a reduction of surrounding property as supply increases, but the second order effects of more people are almost always accretive. The downtown area of a city is typically some of the most expensive real estate.

legerdemain 4y ago
Atherton is literally a town of nothing but mega-mansions with very, very little in the way of commerce or industry. Its entire raison d'être is to be a retreat for the ultra-wealthy. Having ordinary people walk around in your billionaire enclave lowers property values.
- mushufasa 4y ago
  > Having ordinary people walk around in your billionaire enclave lowers property values I understand this is the argument is being made. This just seems to me like this is an opinion stated as if it were a fact, and not a tautological truth of property valuation.
  - legerdemain 4y ago
    Tell that to Marc himself! Atherton residents are the kind of people who call the cops on pedestrians for walking around suspiciously. They have given every indication of not wanting the non-rich anywhere near them.
SkyMarshal 4y ago
>The downtown area of a city is typically some of the most expensive real estate. You're probably correct except in the case of the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods in the country. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/managing-wealth/062416/10-most-expensive-zip-codes-california.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/managing-wealth/062416...
- mushufasa 4y ago
  That list includes Tribeca, NY and Bacon Hill, Boston, which is described as "This historic neighborhood in the heart of Boston"
  - nilkn 4y ago
    Not every expensive neighborhood is expensive for the same reason. There's definitely an "archetype," if you will, of neighborhoods that primarily derive their value from being exclusively home to the upper class. Atherton, River Oaks in Houston, even Palm Beach in Florida are examples. Compare property values in Palm Beach to West Palm Beach, for instance.
    - mushufasa 4y ago
      Are those property values high because there are a lot of mansions built out there, or is it specifically because of the population density in county limits?
quantified 4y ago
There really isn't what you would call "downtown" Atherton".
- yazzku 4y ago
  What happens in downtown Atherton stays in downtown Atherton, that's why you haven't heard about it.
kurupt213 4y ago
no. rezoning to multifamily housing in single family housing areas pretty much always lowers the value of the single family housing units. crime goes up, schools get worse. it's all relative, but it's a real phenomenon. if people wanted to live by multifamily housing they would live in the city. people move to suburbs to escape dense housing.

legerdemain 4y ago

Atherton is literally a town of nothing but mega-mansions with very, very little in the way of commerce or industry. Its entire raison d'être is to be a retreat for the ultra-wealthy. Having ordinary people walk around in your billionaire enclave lowers property values.

mushufasa 4y ago
> Having ordinary people walk around in your billionaire enclave lowers property values I understand this is the argument is being made. This just seems to me like this is an opinion stated as if it were a fact, and not a tautological truth of property valuation.
- legerdemain 4y ago
  Tell that to Marc himself! Atherton residents are the kind of people who call the cops on pedestrians for walking around suspiciously. They have given every indication of not wanting the non-rich anywhere near them.

SkyMarshal 4y ago

>The downtown area of a city is typically some of the most expensive real estate. You're probably correct except in the case of the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods in the country. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/managing-wealth/062416/10-most-expensive-zip-codes-california.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/managing-wealth/062416...

mushufasa 4y ago
That list includes Tribeca, NY and Bacon Hill, Boston, which is described as "This historic neighborhood in the heart of Boston"
- nilkn 4y ago
  Not every expensive neighborhood is expensive for the same reason. There's definitely an "archetype," if you will, of neighborhoods that primarily derive their value from being exclusively home to the upper class. Atherton, River Oaks in Houston, even Palm Beach in Florida are examples. Compare property values in Palm Beach to West Palm Beach, for instance.
  - mushufasa 4y ago
    Are those property values high because there are a lot of mansions built out there, or is it specifically because of the population density in county limits?

quantified 4y ago

There really isn't what you would call "downtown" Atherton".

yazzku 4y ago
What happens in downtown Atherton stays in downtown Atherton, that's why you haven't heard about it.

kurupt213 4y ago

no. rezoning to multifamily housing in single family housing areas pretty much always lowers the value of the single family housing units. crime goes up, schools get worse. it's all relative, but it's a real phenomenon. if people wanted to live by multifamily housing they would live in the city. people move to suburbs to escape dense housing.