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It's similar to other places, like Canada. Demand far outpaces supply. This leads to what I call a "propertied spiral", where people with property (propertied c

It's similar to other places, like Canada. Demand far outpaces supply. This leads to what I call a "propertied spiral", where people with property (propertied class) are enormously in favour of protecting the market value of their property to the point of constraining attempts at increasing supply (often but not always), where people who are just able to afford property live with quite a bit of precarity and large debt to income ratios, where people who are just unable to afford are still renting, which heightens demand on rental properties, pushing rents higher (because of the supply constraints), which squeezes even hard on people who are barely able to survive. And so on and so on. This is actually a picture of most real-estate markets pre-WWII, if I understand right.

brutus1213 3y ago
I was going to reply to the parent and say Canada but you beat me to it. Canada's housing bubble (?) existed since at least the early 2000s when I was in grad school. Everyone expected the bubble to pop. When condo prices continued to be strong during covid (who the heck would buy condos), I just had to admit I was wrong. This is not a bubble but we did not see the true factors driving things. Immigration is the biggest one. People do indeed bring suitcases of cash from all over the world (including Ukraine). After covid, we had a torrent of international students enter, and these folks are bolstering rents (real-estate investment is probably the most profitable activity in Canada).
- brailsafe 3y ago
  I know why I wouldn't buy a condo now (it's impossible) or particular condos in particular markets, but I don't see why someone wouldn't in general, though I'd probably prefer something at ground level. As long as I agree with the conditions, a condo would be fine. The rest, well, it's some of those factors, but it's also the whole system designed to be static and reward pensioners with property and investors. Every facet of the system is fucked, and it ain't gunna get better.

brutus1213 3y ago

I was going to reply to the parent and say Canada but you beat me to it. Canada's housing bubble (?) existed since at least the early 2000s when I was in grad school. Everyone expected the bubble to pop. When condo prices continued to be strong during covid (who the heck would buy condos), I just had to admit I was wrong. This is not a bubble but we did not see the true factors driving things. Immigration is the biggest one. People do indeed bring suitcases of cash from all over the world (including Ukraine). After covid, we had a torrent of international students enter, and these folks are bolstering rents (real-estate investment is probably the most profitable activity in Canada).

brailsafe 3y ago
I know why I wouldn't buy a condo now (it's impossible) or particular condos in particular markets, but I don't see why someone wouldn't in general, though I'd probably prefer something at ground level. As long as I agree with the conditions, a condo would be fine. The rest, well, it's some of those factors, but it's also the whole system designed to be static and reward pensioners with property and investors. Every facet of the system is fucked, and it ain't gunna get better.