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Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#221

Post by HEmanZ »

danpalmer wrote: post #203
targ65 wrote: post #172

Like another comment here mentioned, housing is complicated. People don't want to live in a random house in the middle of nowhere ('roof over your head'). Some people prefer to be homeless on the street versus getting to a roof over their head that they don't like. People want to live where they want to live (near family, jobs, culture etc) Take NYC for instance. Politicians try to address the NYC housing crisis from…

> Deregulate construction, get rid of unions, prioritize developer rights over tenant or homeowner rights. These all assume that the cost of new development is the building/development itself. It isn't. It's the land. The correct solution to this is a land tax based on the assessed value of the land.

Don't many states/cities (if we're talking US) already do this?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#223

Post by enlyth »

mkl95 wrote: post #153

I make ~4x my country's generous minimum wage and I'm struggling to find a decent flat I can afford - I'm not talking of something like a detached house, just a good flat in a non crappy urban area. I often wonder how people with an average job can stand the fact all they'll ever be able to own is a small flat in the middle of nowhere or in a run down area. The state of real estate is defeating.

I'm 95th percentile of my country's income according to government data, but struggling in the same way. Most of my friends who have houses have gotten them by inheritance or massive help from their parents.

"Why aren't people having kids? Why is no one marrying and starting families anymore?" Like dude, if I can't afford to buy a small property for myself as a single occupant, I'm not going to dive straight in to having children and renting for the rest of my life. I need financial stability.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#224

Post by thepasswordis »

danpalmer wrote: post #218
thepasswordis wrote: post #132

>a basic human right You do not have a basic human right to the labor of the people who build and maintain these houses. This is where this entire discussion collapses for me. Yes, I agree there needs to be more access to housing. And it’s frustrating to me that our government is too inept to simply provide it. For instance: we have committed to about 45 Billion to Ukraine. At a cost of $100k/unit (achievable at scal…

> You do not have a basic human right to the labor of the people who build and maintain these houses. But you should have the right to live under a government who provide this for you. It's like saying that you don't have a basic human right to have that doctor help you – no you don't, but you do have a right to have a doctor help you. Safe housing is a human right, as is healthcare, as is food and water, because the…

Why do you have a right to having a doctor help you? What if he doesn’t want to help you? Can the government force him to?

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#225

Post by beisenpress »

targ65 wrote: post #172

Like another comment here mentioned, housing is complicated. People don't want to live in a random house in the middle of nowhere ('roof over your head'). Some people prefer to be homeless on the street versus getting to a roof over their head that they don't like. People want to live where they want to live (near family, jobs, culture etc) Take NYC for instance. Politicians try to address the NYC housing crisis from…

You're right that building more housing is the solution. But we don't need to get rid of unions or deregulate construction. The main issue is land use regulation [0]. We just need to let developers build.

[0] https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/glaeser/files/why_is_manha...

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#226

Post by [deleted] »

danpalmer wrote: post #203
targ65 wrote: post #172

Like another comment here mentioned, housing is complicated. People don't want to live in a random house in the middle of nowhere ('roof over your head'). Some people prefer to be homeless on the street versus getting to a roof over their head that they don't like. People want to live where they want to live (near family, jobs, culture etc) Take NYC for instance. Politicians try to address the NYC housing crisis from…

> Deregulate construction, get rid of unions, prioritize developer rights over tenant or homeowner rights. These all assume that the cost of new development is the building/development itself. It isn't. It's the land. The correct solution to this is a land tax based on the assessed value of the land.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#228

Post by _8j50 »

targ65 wrote: post #172

Like another comment here mentioned, housing is complicated. People don't want to live in a random house in the middle of nowhere ('roof over your head'). Some people prefer to be homeless on the street versus getting to a roof over their head that they don't like. People want to live where they want to live (near family, jobs, culture etc) Take NYC for instance. Politicians try to address the NYC housing crisis from…

You are right that throwing money at it isn't a solution. But corporations should not own residencial housing and no one should be allowed to sell propery at a meaningful profit if they own multiple properties.

The government should excecise it's power of taxation to take the profits of an investment housing sell (as defined above: multiple property owner selling at profit) with something like a 95% tax on profit and use that to build competitive housing (not for the homeless but for the regular person).

It is doable politically but only if there is support with the people. This bullshit about your housing being an equity investment and other related sentiment needs to go away.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#229

Post by letouj »

kasey_junk wrote: post #126
Schroedingersat wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's taxed at least 100% of its land value +100% of its rental value they'll sell pretty quick.

Why not just pass a law saying only individuals can own property and they can only own one?

Because that means apartment buildings become illegal?

Homeownership is all well and good, but sometimes you really do just need a place to live for a year or two, and having to do a full-fledged real estate transaction at each end of that period is a lot of friction.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feels the commoditization of real estate is unethical?

#230

Post by fennecfoxen »

danpalmer wrote: post #203
targ65 wrote: post #172

Like another comment here mentioned, housing is complicated. People don't want to live in a random house in the middle of nowhere ('roof over your head'). Some people prefer to be homeless on the street versus getting to a roof over their head that they don't like. People want to live where they want to live (near family, jobs, culture etc) Take NYC for instance. Politicians try to address the NYC housing crisis from…

> Deregulate construction, get rid of unions, prioritize developer rights over tenant or homeowner rights. These all assume that the cost of new development is the building/development itself. It isn't. It's the land. The correct solution to this is a land tax based on the assessed value of the land.

[UI confusion led me to think this was a reply in a nyc specific comment chain. It’s still relevant but less perfectly so.]

You land-tax to make sure the most efficient buildings end up using the land. But the construction industry in towns like SF and NYC is mostly constrained by what you can get approved, which comes down to connections and what politician-pleasing giveaways you have to tack on.

And expensive downtown Manhattan land has lots of potential competition, but with transportation infrastructure costs running $2 billion a mile (!!!!!)

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