Housing prices.

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brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
29,051
29,174
136
People buy RV lots here for camping...knowing fully well that they're limited to 90 days of camping. (or 90 days of having an RV parked on their lot.) Then they start bitching about wanting to use it 120, 180, even 365 days per year. That's not what they agreed to when they bought their lot...and in most cases, that was carefully explained to them by their realtor and/or title company.

Holy shit, it's like you are deliberately obtuse.
 

Saylick

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2012
3,882
9,016
136
Really want to make a dent in housing prices? Take the housing market away from the corporations who buy up everything they can in desirable areas...then jack the prices, whether for resale or rentals.
I could get behind this. I think California should enact a law that does a progressive tax on income generated from rental property: the more units you own, the higher the marginal tax rate.
 
Dec 10, 2005
27,480
11,811
136
Really want to make a dent in housing prices? Take the housing market away from the corporations who buy up everything they can in desirable areas...then jack the prices, whether for resale or rentals.
Those corporations make up a small fraction of the total housing market. The publicly traded ones even tell us why they do it: artificially constrained supply drives up prices, making it a way for them to make a lot of money. We could undercut them tomorrow by allowing more to get built.

When you go to sell your property, are you going to sell it at a substantial markdown or are you going to try to get the most you can based on the local market?
 

Indus

Lifer
May 11, 2002
14,592
10,201
136
Yeah, it's a slow but correct walk in the right direction, but I still think that it's not quick enough. The few remaining ways to own property in a HCOL area in California is either through a big windfall from your parents, dual high income household, or have the property straight up gifted down to the next generation via inheritance. Good luck to future generations who didn't have parents who they themselves were able to obtain property via one of the aforementioned methods.

As for the Bay Area, I was born and raised in San Francisco, so I understand completely. The height restriction in all of the residential areas makes the City's aesthetic so unique but it's also what makes building more units so dang hard. Funny how this thread was started by someone complaining about the housing prices in Pasadena, and here I am today not more than a few minutes drive from Pasadena itself. I'm still not a homeowner, though, if it wasn't obvious.

I am a New Yorker but I "visited" San Fran to find myself in early 98. Got a job at logitech.. co-rented an apartment in Hayward.. wanted to get a house in San Fran.

In 2 months I knew that was going to be impossible even though the lifestyle was exactly what I wanted. I went home with my tail between my legs and my dad never let me forget it.

I did learn a few important things though:

1. Never have a roommate.. it's better to live in a shitty apartment as long as it's yours.
2. Never assume you can pay off big rents/ mortgages (can't dip into savings every month)
 
Reactions: Saylick
Dec 10, 2005
27,480
11,811
136
Of course changing zoning laws hurts people. That’s why it is wildly unpopular. When people buy property, they look at the surrounding property uses. Adding more density means more congestion and more noise. I know folks here love to waive away externalities but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
It's only adding more congestion if you keep everything car focused. The good thing about density is that it can support other modes of transit and even just walking. And density wouldn't happen overnight. It would take time, just like it took time to get where we are today. And if someone doesn't like the density, they can always sell out and move elsewhere. It's not the government's job to protect your property value at the expense of increased housing costs for others and mass homelessness.

We also shouldn't wave away the externalities of suburban style sprawl development, that requires huge wastelands of parking lots because everyone has to drive their personal automobiles everywhere.

And not changing the zoning laws hurts a lot of people. How many people are kept from lands of opportunity by high housing costs, or have to put up with long commutes because they can't afford to live closer to work?
 
Reactions: Saylick

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,873
24,213
136
Imagine saying fixing zoning laws equals India like city density. This is like Putin level propaganda it's crazy.

And to those who think responsibly creating density is wrong for people that got there first and don't want it, That's an amazing way to think, hey I got mine so fuck everybody else, I'm going to tell you what you can do with your own fucking property.

And no matter how many times you point out how insane That kind of thinking is, They just double down.

Housing prices are holding a lot of people back and these people do not give a flying fuck about any of them. Literally zero. Zero of the solutions they propose will actually do jack shit. Or maybe just slightly more than Jack's shit.

Nobody wants to build a skyscraper in your boring fucking suburban town next to your fucking single family home, And absolutely nobody wants to build density anywhere in your rural areas.
 
Reactions: Brainonska511

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,734
13,351
126
www.betteroff.ca
I do think they need to loosen up the laws so that houses are easier and cheaper to build, cut out all the red tape and permitting costs, and wait time etc. And if someone wants to build a second house on their plot to rent out then let them. If there is actually a demand for apartments then let people build them, but most people do want single family homes, so those need to be easier to build. Slash the red tape and let people build. That's what Poilievre wants to do but we'll have to see how well he actually executes it. Either way it's probably going to be better than whatever the hell Trudeau has been doing. He's been promissing affordable housing since like 2015 and the prices have only doubled, if more, since then. I'm sure glad I bought in 2009 but I feel bad for anyone trying to buy now.
 

[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
16,716
15,700
146
The fastest way to reduce housing prices is....

wait for it....

wait for it....

BUILD MORE FUCKING HOUSING.
Small correction, build more affordable housing. I've ranted about this before, but it does no good to build housing/rentals if they're exclusively targeted at the middle-upper class housing market, and the builder can afford to sit on the property/land until the market 'cooperates'.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,873
24,213
136
I also practice what I preach. I live in an area with lots of development, And I don't oppose any of it really. The one thing I do support that we don't have is a mandatory 10 to 15% affordable housing on any development over x amount of units.


They proposed rezoning a couple blocks on my street just a few blocks down from me. To put some mid-rise apartment buildings with retail on the ground floor, where now is just mostly two-story buildings. I'm all for it.

At the same time I strongly support increasing mass transit dramatically. while this Metro area has the best mass transit in the country by far, our government is still. I also still see so many car-centric brainwashed people that are against anything that increases density, or takes cars off the roads like bike Lanes, etc... It's absolutely infuriating.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,627
14,020
146
Those corporations make up a small fraction of the total housing market. The publicly traded ones even tell us why they do it: artificially constrained supply drives up prices, making it a way for them to make a lot of money. We could undercut them tomorrow by allowing more to get built.

When you go to sell your property, are you going to sell it at a substantial markdown or are you going to try to get the most you can based on the local market?
Build more houses, more corporations will buy them to help control the market...and the number isn't as small as you think...especially in the rental market. The more single family homes the corporate investors buy and remove from the market, the more pressure that puts on home prices for sales.




In the early-mid 90s, we rented a house in CA. The owners was some mega-real estate corporation that owned ~15,000 homes/apartments. They went bankrupt about 1995 and the homes got sold off...including ours.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,444
5,848
146
The fastest way to reduce housing prices is....

wait for it....

wait for it....

BUILD MORE FUCKING HOUSING.

Also, build cities that people want to live in, not ever expanding suburban hellscapes that people have to resort to coupled with 1-2hour long commutes to afford those homes. Wherein the cities have to buy up houses to expand their 58 lane freeways because somehow despite them adding more lanes traffic keeps getting worse?!?

Ah, holy shit, Brainoniska already speaking the gospel!
 
Reactions: Brainonska511
Dec 10, 2005
27,480
11,811
136
Build more houses, more corporations will buy them to help control the market...and the number isn't as small as you think...especially in the rental market. The more single family homes the corporate investors buy and remove from the market, the more pressure that puts on home prices for sales.



So not building (what's largely happening now) has led to high prices, but building more will also lead to high prices? Right...

This idea that landlords of all types are able to collude with one another to keep prices high is pretty preposterous. We also have real world examples in the US where building has led to net decreases in housing costs (Austin & Minneapolis for instance).
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
71,974
32,171
136
So not building (what's largely happening now) has led to high prices, but building more will also lead to high prices? Right...

This idea that landlords of all types are able to collude with one another to keep prices high is pretty preposterous. We also have real world examples in the US where building has led to net decreases in housing costs (Austin & Minneapolis for instance).
Builders are building like crazy around here and prices are still going up because builders don’t bother building for people who can’t afford housing. Builders build for the high end to maximize profits.
 
Dec 10, 2005
27,480
11,811
136
Builders are building like crazy around here and prices are still going up because builders don’t bother building for people who can’t afford housing. Builders build for the high end to maximize profits.
Part of that is just what we allow though. Too much red tape means only big builders that can get through it. Lot sizes and max units/lot means only expensive McMansions. Impact fees charged by municipal governments drive up prices and come directly out of the buyer's pocket (instead of using property taxes to find infrastructure). Never mind the general idea that new almost always costs more than used (though, in many areas, we're in such a rut, it would take tens to hundreds of thousands of new units across metro areas to really start making a dent in prices, either by slowing price growth, or of enough is built, actually lowering total prices)

At the end of the day, people need somewhere to live. If well off people are buying a home, they are likely leaving a place somewhere else that the next person in the economic ladder could occupy. Filtering is a real effect in housing.

Adjusting zoning and associated codes won't fix everything, but it is currently a severe constraint on what can be built in the first place. We also need targeted construction and subsidies to help out lower income people (but we shouldn't look to reproduce The Projects of the past).
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,190
53,702
136
Really want to make a dent in housing prices? Take the housing market away from the corporations who buy up everything they can in desirable areas...then jack the prices, whether for resale or rentals.
What’s darkly amusing is that these corporations you hate so much say one of the main reasons they are buying up housing is they know it’s a winning investment due to government bans on new construction.

If you really want to screw then over allow people to build housing.
 

brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
29,051
29,174
136
Part of that is just what we allow though. Too much red tape means only big builders that can get through it. Lot sizes and max units/lot means only expensive McMansions. Impact fees charged by municipal governments drive up prices and come directly out of the buyer's pocket (instead of using property taxes to find infrastructure). Never mind the general idea that new almost always costs more than used (though, in many areas, we're in such a rut, it would take tens to hundreds of thousands of new units across metro areas to really start making a dent in prices, either by slowing price growth, or of enough is built, actually lowering total prices)

At the end of the day, people need somewhere to live. If well off people are buying a home, they are likely leaving a place somewhere else that the next person in the economic ladder could occupy. Filtering is a real effect in housing.

Adjusting zoning and associated codes won't fix everything, but it is currently a severe constraint on what can be built in the first place. We also need targeted construction and subsidies to help out lower income people (but we shouldn't look to reproduce The Projects of the past).
This, all of this....

Town I used to live in (very desirable 1st tier suburb) used to be a place families purchased starter homes. Because of it's location it became very advantageous for developers to tear down existing 1940-50s homes and build $1.5M mcmansions on the lots. People started to freak out about affordability but every single proposal to do anything about density and zoning has been met with intense opposition and the city council has basically been turned over twice in the last 10 years because of it.
 
Reactions: Brainonska511

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,190
53,702
136
Builders are building like crazy around here and prices are still going up because builders don’t bother building for people who can’t afford housing. Builders build for the high end to maximize profits.
Much like with cars, brand new housing is for rich people and that’s fine.

Remember, if that new luxury condo isn’t there for that rich person they aren’t going to sleep in their car instead, they are going to go down the ladder one step and kick a middle class person out.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
25,873
24,213
136
Builders are building like crazy around here and prices are still going up because builders don’t bother building for people who can’t afford housing. Builders build for the high end to maximize profits.
This argument has been debunked so many times. It looks like New York City is building tons of buildings but it's not a lot compared to per capita and it's not enough to make up the hundreds of thousands of units of shortfall.

Why do you think builders can build now and really focus mostly just on the high-end price points? Do you think there are unlimited rich people? No, If anybody knows about the wealth inequality in this country, It should be you. There are not unlimited rich people.

But when housing supply is so low, builders have the luxury of just building for the higher end price points. If there was enough housing to meet demand, They could build just high price point housing but they would just sit. Because there would be an equilibrium with supply and demand, they'd have to build cheaper housing too; they'd have to cater to those markets or they wouldn't do much business.

Just saying you see construction is just such a micro observation and ignores the actual macro situation. It's pretty much anecdotal at this point.
 
Reactions: yottabit

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
21,712
6,141
136
The first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club.

If areas, as exhibited by prices, are popular, we should let density increase to allow supply to attempt to meet demand, instead of trying to micromanage our communities like SimCity.
But as density increases desirability decreases. A lot of people don't want to live in a box on the 25th floor, that's the New Delhi dream, not the American dream.
There is land aplenty all across the united states, pick a spot and start building.
 
Reactions: Red Squirrel

[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
16,716
15,700
146
Much like with cars, brand new housing is for rich people and that’s fine.

Remember, if that new luxury condo isn’t there for that rich person they aren’t going to sleep in their car instead, they are going to go down the ladder one step and kick a middle class person out.
So the house they moved out of, it's gone down in price since they bought it because it's used now right?

Right?
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,190
53,702
136
But as density increases desirability decreases. A lot of people don't want to live in a box on the 25th floor,
New York City says hi, haha. Regardless, we already have a great system for how to determine how desirable a place is to live, it’s called the free market.

If density makes a place undesirable to live then people will stop building houses there because developers who do will be unable to sell them and will go bankrupt. The system works!
that's the New Delhi dream, not the American dream.
False. The American dream is to live in whatever type of house you want although it’s sort of funny to see an American conservative extoll the virtues of central planning for one of our largest economic sectors.
There is land aplenty all across the united states, pick a spot and start building.
But of course that’s the thing - they aren’t allowed to build where they want.

‘Just go build a new city in Alaska’ is self evidently silly and you know it. People should build where there is demand.
 
Reactions: Brainonska511

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
51,194
43,345
136
Every time I spend a few days in LA I'm reminded that high housing prices are a choice because the land use is absolute shit. That's a policy decision.

People don't want to lose the "character" of empty small scale office buildings, seemingly abandoned restaurants, and half full strip malls.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
51,194
43,345
136
But as density increases desirability decreases. A lot of people don't want to live in a box on the 25th floor, that's the New Delhi dream, not the American dream.
There is land aplenty all across the united states, pick a spot and start building.

NYC is seeing record rents. Clearly a demand problem.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
87,190
53,702
136
So the house they moved out of, it's gone down in price since they bought it because it's used now right?
If another, newer house were built next door to it with similar features then it would be cheaper than the newer one, yes.
I am continually baffled as to why people think supply and demand doesn't apply to housing. A more accurate question if if all else being equal as compared to the current baseline when you increase supply do housing prices go up or go down?
 
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