Comment on What is an average person living in the US supposed to do about corporations raising prices?

• SCB@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This is specifically about Australia, but essentially all 3 parts of this piece (and related linked essays) sum up how to solve the housing crisis worldwide.

  …substack.com/…/how-to-solve-housing-unaffordabil…

  Boils down to:

  1: change zoning laws to allow more multifamily construction

  2: remove incentives for homeownership and generally disincentivize single family homes

  3: build for density in ways that reinforce and support density

  If you want more info, basically every mainstream economist in the world agrees this is the solution, and that this is a manufactured problem. It’s a result of regulatory capture by homeowners, essentially. There are many, many papers about it.

  Here’s an easily-digestible article

  businessinsider.com/economist-how-to-fix-america-…

  And a well-cited study in an economic journal:

  …umich.edu/…/the-economics-of-the-housing-shortag…

  All these sources agree, because this is the solution. Realistically, the only bad solutions are subsidizing more demand via things like rent control - these will only make our problems worse.

  source

  • TheIllustrativeMan@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    1: change zoning laws to allow more multifamily construction

    Our city did this and it hasn’t helped at all, because banks won’t finance it. No minimum parking, no height limit, no maximum FAR, no maximum unit count.

    source

    • nbafantest@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      What city is that?

      source
    • SCB@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      No minimum parking, no height limit, no maximum FAR, no maximum unit count.

      yeah get rid of these next and you’re set.

      source

      • TheIllustrativeMan@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        That’s what I’m saying though, we got rid of those regulations, and it still doesn’t matter. Banks want parking. Banks limit height. Banks limit unit counts.

        The only solution is for the city to finance and build themselves.

        source

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• Lemmygizer@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  SUPER high level, and slightly biased explanation: corporate home buying.

  Large investment firms like buying up property increasing the demand and raising prices. This prices normal people out of being able to afford a house. It also raises other housing related costs like rent, because these firms want to make a profit. This in turn prices people out of being able to afford ANY housing.

  When we’re just numbers on a spreadsheet, there is a certain level of vacancy and homelessness, that maximizes profits.

  source