this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

every one who's in a house is going to hate loosing that value

False. I'm in a house. I want to live in a different house. I can't afford a different house. Make houses cheaper.

That said there is some financial fuckery that can happen with house prices reducing. Particularly if you end up needing major repairs (though that's just the nature of owning...)

Housing price stagnation seems an acceptable medium.

upsetting that category of voters

I postulate the criticalist category is the >70 crowd, for the following reasons:

  1. They vote.

  2. They don't work much, so existing assets and pensions are the main finances in their life. Owned housing is probably the biggest part of that portfolio; with little chance of opening up new revenue streams. This makes them the most vulnerable to (real or precived) decreases in housing stock value.

  3. They may be, or are planning to become, reverse mortgaged.

  4. They vote.

[–] saigot@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm in a house. I want to live in a different house. I can't afford a different house. Make houses cheaper.

At least how I see it house prices rising is good for you short term if you are hopping from one house to another. For instance I bought my first house in 2020 for 800k, I sold for 1.1mil and bought a 600k house (so I don't get screwed when my mortage renews) that 300k I 'made' from the sale gets to go directly to making my mortgage cheaper and/or renovations.

If house prices drop below what you have left on your mortage then it becomes quite difficult to move, especially if you are upgrading, unless I am missing something.

If you don't plan on moving then the value doesn't really matter much at all besides possibly lowering land tax (but land tax valuations are really divorced from the market rate)

This is a selfish take of course, I think housing prices need to go down, and part of why I choose my current home is because it's a forever home and I don't ever plan on selling so I don't need to care about how the housing market fluxuates. One way or another someone is going to get caught holding the bag, I think home owners are a lot more likely to absorb that damage than most others.

Housing is complex, and I am ni expert, so how do you think this reasoning is incorrect.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The statement was all home owners want prices to increase.

I do not. Therefore the statement is incorrect.

A percentage of homeowners want prices to increase would be more correct. I don't know what that percentage is, but it cannot be 100%.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The statement was all home owners want prices to increase.

This statement was never made.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My apologies, the statement was "every one who's in a house is going to hate loosing that value"

As a person who's in a house and won't hate losing that value, the statement remains false.

I'd also guess that the members of the local anti-gentrification groups also won't hate losing that value; but that's only a guess.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I finally see what you are trying to say. You wouldn't mind losing value in your house, so "the statement remains false" for you.

All i was saying originally is: lowering housing prices would be hard to pull off politically because there will be a significant portion of the 65% of canadians that own houses, that would mind losing that value.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

CMHC built and helpt built about a million houses in '45 to '49 because we needed them.

We're soon to be short 3.5 million houses. So build them.

The only discernable difference is that than in '45 the unhoused were already organized and more apt to violence due to the nature of being a demobilized army.

65% of Canadians can get pissed off about it. But the alternatives look worse, and they'll be more pissed off.

Or we can wait until the number of homeowners drops below the number of non-owners (20 years based on the trend of the last two censuses) and see what the masses decide over the gentry then.

[–] saigot@lemmy.ca -1 points 11 months ago

Ah okay you just don't understand hyperbole. Have a good day.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca -1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Your one example is pretty easy to refute, I own my house I don't want houses to lose that stored value, or all the money I've been shoveling into my mortgage I could have been saving for w/e. It ignores that people with houses have been saving for years.

Reduction and stagnation are different.

[–] robdrimmie@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You have provided exactly as many sources as the person you are responding to. If you think that you are somehow in a stronger debate position, you are incorrect.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 0 points 11 months ago

I remain unconvinced the original statement is false. I don't care about being correct.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't want houses to lose that stored value, or all the money I've been shoveling into my mortgage I could have been saving for w/e.

Obviously I don't either.

It ignores that people with houses have been saving for years

No, we've been purchasing a thing for years, we have not been saving. We can sell that thing, but it is under no obligation to be valued higher than when we bought it.

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How are you calculating the value it had when β€œwe” bought it? No matter where you draw the line if you reduce prices, some people are still going to do well, some will come out even, and some ( the ones that can least afford it ) will get killed.

Stagnation is the most fair to all interests. Inflation will take care of affordability.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

How are you calculating the value it had when β€œwe” bought it

Literally how much you were willing to pay. That's it's. (Technically also how much the previous owner/builder was willing to sell for; but that's also how much they would pay in an indirect sense)

if you reduce prices

And if prices reduce on their own? I've sold for less than purchase twice. It sucks. But I could have rented and not accepted that risk.

and some will get killed.

If you get killed, it's because you tried to invest in something that shouldn't be an investment?

You know who really gets killed? People who buy a home, and then that home has major defaults, and the repairs are 50% of the purchase price 5 years in, and insurance doesn't pay because it's a building fault, and the builders down pay because they rotate companies every year, and maybe you'll be able to sue the city who neglected their inspection duties or the insurance of the builders and architects but that file is still ongoing 4 years later, and even if it is successful will maxed at an amount that will only cover 30% of the work.

But that's a risk of home ownership, and I could have rented to avoid those risks.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No, we've been purchasing a thing for years, we have not been saving. We can sell that thing, but it is under no obligation to be valued higher than when we bought it.

What do you mean "no", I never said "people who bought houses must get a higher return on money spent", i said a policy like this would ignore those people.

What i said originally:

I think there might be a balance here that's hard to strike...

Was in response to:

In all seriousness, all levels of government are moving too slowly on housing affordability. They should be trying to reduce prices to prepandemic levels, or, even better 2010 levels.

This policy would ignore anyone in a house. That also seems shitty

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I policy like this may ignore them, but housing prices can reduce on their own without any government intervention...

I've sold at a loss twice. It sucks. But that's a risk of ownership. I could have avoided that risk by renting.

Your house is only worth however much the next person will pay for it. They are under NO obligation to pay you more than you paid.

Artificially reducing building supply while people cannot afford to rent or purchase is pretty fucking shitty. "Oh hi Bob, it really sucks that you are spending 60% of your income on a place to live; but the ethereal value of this thing I bought keeps going up, and I would love for it to continue going up, even though the future is completely speculative and the whole thing could go tits up and skyrocket again no matter what we do; so I'm going to keep supporting policies that keep the line going up"

Bonus point for undertaxed homes, and suburban regions that survive on pushing the ponzi scheme further out or leeching on city core taxes; for LVT is a whole other kettle of fish.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I policy like this may ignore them, but housing prices can reduce on their own without any government intervention...

This is all i was saying, it is not a simple thing, as the original post said

In all seriousness, all levels of government are moving too slowly on housing affordability. They should be trying to reduce prices to prepandemic levels, or, even better 2010 levels.

Makes it sound like "hey it's simple we just fuck 65% of people in canada" is not a winning political strategy.

Stagnation might be the only reasonable solution. I'm all for taxing home speculation by companies, and raising taxes on secondary/rentals. Hell, i'd be for a subsidies for buying houses even to the poorest people. I want to live in a pleasant place, part of that means everyone lives and works comfortably.

Artificially reducing building supply while people cannot afford to rent or purchase is pretty fucking shitty

I don't know who's doing this or how it relates to the original post

I've sold at a loss twice. It sucks. But that's a risk of ownership.

Presumably prices were also cheaper when you bought in that market, so there's some

Bonus point for undertaxed homes, and suburban regions that survive on pushing the ponzi scheme further out or leeching on city core taxes; for LVT is a whole other kettle of fish.

I don't know anything about this

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Fine. New policy.

We restrict the sale of new cars. We can make car zoning, so only SUVs can be purchased in some places, only trucks in another. Maybe in some small areas we'll allow sedans. Well Make sure that auto manufacturers can build the cars people want, or on the numbers they want them. Want a bicycle instead? Too bad, only cars are allowed here. People are walking? We'll just replace sidewalks with more road for cars.

Sure cars will become way more expensive, bit everyone who already owns a car can watch the value of their car go up!