> Property is a zero sum game No it is not. Properties - houses - can be built. When prices go up, the incentive to build more increases. It could be argued t

> Property is a zero sum game No it is not. Properties - houses - can be built. When prices go up, the incentive to build more increases. It could be argued that land ownership is a zero sum game, because you cannot manufacture land. But even that is not quite true, as can be seen in areas where more land is claimed from sea [0], effectively manufactured. Elsewhere, new land may emerge due to land rising after the recent Ice Age [1]. More importantly, land use - zoning - is something that can be changed, and it’s where economic incentives have an impact. For instance, in UK there's a lot of discussion about building on the green belt around London. And there are other factors here than just money, of course. It could be that money cannot buy a plot to build, but a racial or cultural identity can justify constructing what eventually become new properties. This does not always happen without conflict [2]. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8940235 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8940235 [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-glacial_rebound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-glacial_rebound [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Farm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Farm