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Governments should just build a bunch of socialized housing and rent it at a rent just high enough to offset the expenditure (i.e. way below private market valu
by goethes_kind 3y ago
Governments should just build a bunch of socialized housing and rent it at a rent just high enough to offset the expenditure (i.e. way below private market value). That would put downward pressure on rents.
That is what Vienna did and they are the only popular city in Europe without a serious housing crisis.
- lokar 3y agoNo need. Just upzone lots of land and developers will do it for you.
- Kalium 3y agoI think that may depend a great deal on if you consider a years-long waiting list for socialized housing to be a serious housing crisis. For my own part, I'm going to say that Vienna's approach has not actually solved the key supply problem.
- goethes_kind 3y agoThe point is not to get the socialized housing yourself. The point is that the private market rent prices go down, which is objectively true of Vienna.
- Kalium 3y agoYes, I follow the point. I am disputing your characterization of "popular city in Europe without a serious housing crisis". On the strength of available evidence, Vienna has what can be fairly described as a serious housing crisis.
- carom 3y agoThat would be so perverse if the government gave itself a monopoly on building housing. Just change zoning and make it legal for the private market to meet the need. Look at all the builders remedy projects in Santa Monica to see that this works.
- bugglebeetle 3y agoBuilders Remedy affect on the affordability of Santa Monica is so minimal as to be irrelevant.
- Dylan16807 3y agoWhat definition of "monopoly" are you using here...?
- carom 3y agoIt being illegal, due to restrictive zoning, for private parties to build at higher densities.
- Dylan16807 3y agoOh, okay. I was confused because you said monopoly on housing, not dense housing. Yes they should force more zones to allow dense housing too.
- CapstanRoller 3y agoSorry, the "private market" had a chance to fix the problem but instead chose to squeeze tenants harder and harder for decades.
- carom 3y agoHousing is more or less maxed out with respect to zoning laws in a lot of places. Those come from the government. Rezone to allow higher density and people will build. It is functionally illegal to build more housing.
- CapstanRoller 3y agoYes, because of NIMBYism. Existing property owners benefit from an undersupply of housing, so they lobby for restrictions in order to reduce competition which would drive down prices and rents.
- pjc50 3y agoThe UK had this system (council housing) and then basically dismantled it in the 80s. Then imposed some even more stupid rules. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41324305 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41324305 Woking council managed to make some terrible investments and is now bankrupt: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-65920223 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-65920223
- skippyboxedhero 3y agoIt hasn't been dismantled. In fact, 20% of the private rental market is supported by the government. All that happened is that councils stopped building homes and sold some of the ones they had to current occupants (and councils actually also have control over planning permission, so they did this and blocked anyone from building new houses at all). There is other stuff going on (it is likely impossible for the UK to build enough housing given demographic trends atm) but this is all caused by not building enough houses (the reason why investors are buying houses in Canada is because there aren't enough of them, it is all the same problem).
- therealdrag0 3y agoI saw a YouTube video describing Singapore housing and it sounded similar to this, but for condos not rentals.