D&D and the rising pandemic

[Zardnaar]

Yeah. And that seems to be part of what's pushing up rents alongside housing prices in a lot of places.

People in the bottom half of the economy are just screwed.
And those who can't just relocate on a whim are even more so.

Here it's unsustainable population growth (25% in 15 years or so) followed by the usual problems (Airbnb, red tape, NIMBYism etc) and Covid relief.

And no capital gains tax.

Joke here is my house earned more than me last year tax free.

Of course if you bought your property years ago ka-ching.

Throw in post Covid effects.

In latest news another USA billionaire who "invested" 10 million three months ago got residency and accessed hospital services for family. He was holed up in Fiji.

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

Basically if you're rich enough you can skip the line and get around border controls.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In many places in the US, there's people, and more usually companies, buying up homes for use as Air B&B properties.

I was just reading an article a couple weeks ago about certain venture capital firms buying up houses all over the place, sometimes whole neighborhoods at a time. They’re often bidding hundreds of thousands over asking price. Their goal is turning homes into rentals.* Doing this:

1) shrinks the market for affordable single family houses by reducing supply and distorting future asking prices. Home ownership gets placed further out of reach for more people.
2) drives up property tax rates, hurting homeowners and smaller multi-property owners in those neighborhoods, which may force them to sell. I know people in each category facing this- so far, none have been forced to sell.






* as the old joke goes, “Here comes the neighborhood!”

 

[Zardnaar]

I was just reading an article a couple weeks ago about certain venture capital firms buying up houses all over the place, sometimes whole neighborhoods at a time. They’re often bidding hundreds of thousands over asking price. Their goal is turning homes into rentals.* Doing this:

1) shrinks the market for affordable single family houses by reducing supply and distorting future asking prices. Home ownership gets placed further out of reach for more people.
2) drives up property tax rates, hurting homeowners and smaller multi-property owners in those neighborhoods, which may force them to sell. I know people in each category facing this- so far, none have been forced to sell.






* as the old joke goes, “Here comes the neighborhood!”

We don't really have the corporations doing it but larger investors. Something like two thirds of housing is bought up by investors.

They can't really drive up local taxes though. Rates are set by the councils who try to keep them low as possible.

Isn't it easier in USA to build though hypothetically keeping prices down? Young ones here don't believe me when I say the same things happening in UK/USA/Canada/Australia.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

We don't really have the corporations doing it but larger investors. Something like two thirds of housing is bought up by investors.

They can't really drive up local taxes though. Rates are set by the councils who try to keep them low as possible.

Isn't it easier in USA to build though hypothetically keeping prices down? Young ones here don't believe me when I say the same things happening in UK/USA/Canada/Australia.

Even here, supplies are finite.

When we built our house in 1997, there was both a concrete shortage AND a labor shortage. It added months to construction time.* That’s without any major storms happening near enough to further sap available building supplies for effecting repairs.






* Awkwardly, the house we were vacating and put on the market sold in just a few days.

 

[Zardnaar]

Even here, supplies are finite.

When we built our house in 1997, there was both a concrete shortage AND a labor shortage. It added months to construction time.* That’s without any major storms happening near enough to further sap available building supplies for effecting repairs.






* Awkwardly, the house we were vacating and put on the market sold in just a few days.

In 90's I remember being told not to go to trade school.

These days they're creaming it. I just look at the ratios sisters house was 3 years (1993)average income, ours was 5, now it's 12.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

We just got news that a close friend’s daughter and son-in-law are both hospitalized with Covid, in a rural hospital in or near the reservation, God help them. So she may be pressed into taking care of her young teenaged grandkids. From hearing only one side of the conversation, it seems like the boy may be mask-averse. (No idea if that’s from his parents, or what little sis is thinking.)

His nana is in her 70s, and has a buttload of afflictions. His grandpa is fighting stomach cancer. Mom told her to double mask before chewing off his metaphorical, rightfully pointing out if they (the grandparents) get sick, the kids will be up naughty word creek.

And after THAT call ended, she looked at me and said she’s probably not going to mass, dispensation or not, Bishop changing his mind or not. She’s also talking about not letting Dad or me go, either. Nevermind that- even on normal Sundays- I’m farther from the altar than almost any other attendee.

This from a woman who, as a kid, walked herself to & from Church at times when her mom lapsed from practice and couldn’t be bothered. I’ve never met this lady.

 

[Eltab]

Isn't it easier in USA to build though hypothetically keeping prices down?

Depends on where in the US you look. California's permitting process has been made into a bundle of red tape and fees and delays. Indiana in contrast a developer can pretty much buy the next farm along a road into town, plat it as a subdivision, get the permitting OK, and start building (big expensive) homes.
There does seem to be a 'entry barrier' for single-family starter homes. XL mansions are buildable once you have lined up a wealthy patron to buy it. Apartment buildings have almost Most Favored Habitation status. But something modest-sized, for empty-nesters or newlyweds? Few and far between.
And of course letting only a few new houses be built for the market increases price for existing houses when lots of new people want to move into town.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I don't know where you're at where its easier to build apartments than tract housing, but its not most parts of California.

 

[Cadence]

I don't know where you're at where its easier to build apartments than tract housing, but its not most parts of California.

It feels like it's at least as easy in any South Carolina city where the zoning allows it...

 

[J.Quondam]

Depends on where in the US you look. California's permitting process has been made into a bundle of red tape and fees and delays. Indiana in contrast a developer can pretty much buy the next farm along a road into town, plat it as a subdivision, get the permitting OK, and start building (big expensive) homes.
There does seem to be a 'entry barrier' for single-family starter homes. XL mansions are buildable once you have lined up a wealthy patron to buy it. Apartment buildings have almost Most Favored Habitation status. But something modest-sized, for empty-nesters or newlyweds? Few and far between.
And of course letting only a few new houses be built for the market increases price for existing houses when lots of new people want to move into town.

Yeah, the lack of small homes is really frustrating for anyone looking to either start out or downsize. Seems any existing modest home is either rotted away ("needs TLC!"), or are eyepoppingly overpriced in chic neighborhoods. And ask about smaller (say, <1000sqft) homes in a newer developments? LoL! There's just no incentive for developers to build "cozy" homes when they can spend a little more to build a bigger place that they can sell for a lot more.

For a huge and growing segment of the population, the hope of being a homeowner has been absolutely murdered. And it's getting to where even renting a place that isn't trash is becoming an unachievable dream for many in the bottom half.