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Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

theguardian.com

21–30 of 282 posts

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#21
post #14

so is there any actual evidence that foreign home ownership is causing meaningful housing price inflation in Spain? or is this just uninformed pandering like it is in the US

Meaningful is a weasel word here. Even 0.1% price increase which would be impossible to measure directly still adds up across the entire housing sector. But, equally important is simply the number of natives prevented from buying the home they want because someone is getting a vacation property.

But you also need to measure the dampening impact on home building.

If builders would have built N units knowing they could easily sell some % them to foreign buyers but now they can’t, then you might lose the whole supply. And all the knock on effects for contractors, suppliers, etc

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#22
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

NIMBYism making it extremely difficult and expensive to build supply as is needed. in 1946 the US had a population of 141M and built 700k housing units in 2024 the US had a population of 336M and built 90k housing units

Where are these numbers from? How does 5 million housing units from 2020-2023 (this was published in 2024) translate into "90K housing units"

>The United States has added almost 5 million housing units since 2020, most heavily in the South and most of them single-family homes, making a housing shortage look conquerable in much of the nation.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/05/16/housing-boom-....

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#23

I want to make sure I understand this correctly. If you bought a house a few years ago, Spain will effectively rob you of it now? Or will it only apply to new purchases, so you'll have to pay x2 market value if you want to buy one? If it's the former, than even flaunting such a plan is a complete catastrophe for any foreign investment in Spain from now on. But if it's the latter, it'll just bring to life a whole indu…

believe it is new purchases

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#24
post #6
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

In Canada potentially Chinese immigrants in Vancouver/Toronto, in the US it's an over-generous monetary policy (through low interest rates, especially during COVID)

One should also add that (at least in Canada) newer buildings are not built for families but for investors. Who needs all of those 30 square meter studios?

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#25

I want to make sure I understand this correctly. If you bought a house a few years ago, Spain will effectively rob you of it now? Or will it only apply to new purchases, so you'll have to pay x2 market value if you want to buy one? If it's the former, than even flaunting such a plan is a complete catastrophe for any foreign investment in Spain from now on. But if it's the latter, it'll just bring to life a whole indu…

>If it's the former, than even flaunting such a plan is a complete catastrophe for any foreign investment in Spain from now on.

There's investments that don't involve real estate. Moreover, property isn't a productive asset, so discouraging investment into that is arguably a good thing. Investing money into a factory means you get more stuff produced. Investing money into property just... sits there.

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#26
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

It’s always supply. It’s fair to criticize foreign ownership/hedge funds purchasing homes, but the overwhelming reason is that we are not building enough.

however, like roads, it is entirely possible that building more in desirable neighborhoods simply leads to more wealthy people having more options for which (otherwise empty) residence they choose to spend the weekend at.

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#27
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

NIMBYism making it extremely difficult and expensive to build supply as is needed. in 1946 the US had a population of 141M and built 700k housing units in 2024 the US had a population of 336M and built 90k housing units

1946 was a special case. It was the start of the baby boom, kicked off by the victorious soldiers returning home and wanting to get on with life.

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#28
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

NIMBYism making it extremely difficult and expensive to build supply as is needed. in 1946 the US had a population of 141M and built 700k housing units in 2024 the US had a population of 336M and built 90k housing units

Your 90K number is a monthly number, not annual and only for single family units.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST1F

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#29
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

Too much regulation or greedy landlords depending on your political persuasion.

There's never been a time when people were not greedy.

The "suddenly, people started being greedy" meme doesn't make much sense.

Re: Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents

#30
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's causing it in the US?

NIMBYism making it extremely difficult and expensive to build supply as is needed. in 1946 the US had a population of 141M and built 700k housing units in 2024 the US had a population of 336M and built 90k housing units

"NIMBYism making it extremely difficult and expensive to build supply as is needed."

Only in some areas. There are other factors affecting how expensive houses are across the country, such as materials/labor, preferences for larger/fancier houses, location preference, and increasingly complex/expensive code.

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