It would only be an economic crisis for land owners who seek rent. Really housing shouldn’t be something that people profit from.
this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2025
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I mean, 0 new apartments would be built
Until someone needs a home and they build it
Where are they living while they save up the several hundred thousand it costs to build one?
You're right, the first time shelter was built in human history it was a Blackrock apartment complex.
How could i forget.
Some people want to rent (e.g., young people, people with mobile jobs, or people who just aren’t ready to be tied down to one place).
And I don’t have a problem with a small-time property owner renting out a house at a fair rate. In theory it’s a win-win: the renter gets a place to stay, the landlord builds equity in their property.
The issue we have is two-fold:
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Companies buying up massive amounts of property (not just a house or two, but thousands) and turning entire neighborhoods into rent zones, driving out any competition and availability of housing to buy, thereby driving up prices.
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Price collusion amongst these companies, driving up rent far above fair rates, using these software services that share going rates across markets. That reduces consumer choice.
Barring a really interesting solution, like a Land Value Tax or something, my proposal to remediate this housing problem is rather straight-forward and simple:
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Prohibit these software companies from sharing rental rates info to customers. Landlords just need to figure it out in their own markets the old fashioned way.
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Prohibit corporations from buying housing with the intention to rent it. Force these corporations to sell their housing and get out of the landlord business.
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Allow individuals to hold property for renting out, but cap number of properties a person or household can own for the express intention of renting out to five at any given time. That allows a person to build up a nice little savings nest, and provide a rental property to someone who wants to rent, but doesn’t allow anyone to dominate a housing market. Look for those massive profits elsewhere - start a business that creates and provides value.
Anyway, one can dream, I guess.
People don't "want to rent". They want shelter. It's just that renting is the easiest way to get that.
People don’t “want to work.” They want money. It’s just that working is the easiest way for most people to get that.
Well, thanks Captain Obvious. Statements like that are technically true, but how helpful are they for contributing to a conversation?
pretty sure this would lead to some sort of economic crisis
And? We’ve already tried it the other way around, and we’ve really got nothing to lose at this point by trying OOP’s idea out.
Then this is my take:
- no taxes on first home
- some tax on second home
- taxes on any home past the second grow exponentially, doubling for each additional home
- order of the homes is always from less expensive to most expensive
- same is valid for companies
- for companies owned by other companies, all the houses owned are considered as belonging to the mother (root) company, so there's no "creating matrioskas to that each own a single house"
Obviously offices and factories are not habitable space and therefore not counted in this system.
Housing shouldn't be an investment asset, especially in a for profit system, or you'll just make BlackRock again.
It shouldn't be an investment asset.
Homebuilding is still a business though. You still need someone to risk their money, assemble the materials and crew, complete the project and find a buyer for it.
If there's no demand for a product no one will build it. There's always going to be demand for a mythical product that can't be built. Like cheap housing.
I just spent $2,000 on a handful of wood, shingles, and siding to patch my house up. like 1/10th of a single wide trailer. That's just the materials i'll be providing the labor which would normally cost $30-$60 hour.
So it shouldn't be an investment asset, someone still has to invest in it being built, so that a homeowner may live there.
Is that sort of thing not exactly what our taxes should be paying for?
Ya in an ideal world. Currently the system runs by me fixing up a house and losing $50,000 of my hard earned money so a young family can get a cheap house. I'd preferred if the government compensated me for my contribution to the housing crisis?
For me personally I’d like a 50-60 square meter apartment for no more than 2x my annual income. And I’d like to be able to get a loan with a monthly down payment equal to whatever I’ve been paying in rent for the last couple of years.
I can pay 12500 NOK a month in rent, but for some reason the bank can’t trust me to pay the same amount if I were to buy an apartment? Fuck that.
Banks used to trust people and that has led to GFC. So most governments now have legal frameworks to ensure that banks don't trust you anymore. I don't think you want another GFC.
Surely there can be a middle ground.
I hate that I’ve been paying close to 150k NOK a year in rent for the last ten years but for some reason I can’t be trusted with a loan unless I make a lot more and save up something like 300k.
Except for the fact that I have a place to live it feels like I’m throwing money out the window.
I don't know what the situation is in your country, but here's an example from the UK.
Imagine you bought a £500k house in London just after the pandemic. The mortgage rates were around 1.2-1.3%. You could afford monthly payments at the time, everything looked cool. Now a couple years later the war in Ukraine starts, economy tanks and interest rates go over 7%. Now your monthly payments become 3-4x higher and you're fucked. You lose your house, become homeless and you still owe half a mil. The end.
So everyone else should bail you out? That's what it is
No good person can become the president of a rigged as fuck system