Builders build bungalow sprawl, poorly, but get more money for repairs; and rebuilds after fire torches 2-3 of them.
Still not enough houses
Now also not enough land
Low supply vs high demand
Results: Shitty firetrap car-dependent bungalow sprawl at sky-high prices
Don’t talk to me about 7 floors of firetrap lowboy condo shit. 3 mins to get grandpa down the stairs from L7 to L1 after 3c leaves a candle lit is a joke.
Housing always has to go up, or the owner-voters revolt against whoever is in power. So all government policies favour housing appreciation, protect against depreciation, or simply avoid taking meaningful, proportionate and timely action that could cause prices to depreciate.
Even things like airbnb bans, getting rid of exclusionary zoning, etc. are too little, too late. Prices have already been inflated, and owner-occupiers are now holding things up because they can’t simply cash out, write off a loss and move their equity elsewhere because they need somewhere to live. Governments support those owner-occupiers (and often corporate landlords, for as long as they stay in the game) to ensure votes and campaign contributions continue.
We are sitting on a massive, fragile bubble that is getting harder and harder to prop up every year. With insurance issues, climate change, an aging population hoping/needing to cash out equity to fund their retirement, wages way behind inflation for millenials and Gen z, massive amounts of differed municipal infrastructure due to artificially low property tax, unemployment creeping up, etc. there are growing threats to the continued “housing always goes up” economy.
Canada:
Results: Shitty firetrap car-dependent bungalow sprawl at sky-high prices
Don’t talk to me about 7 floors of firetrap lowboy condo shit. 3 mins to get grandpa down the stairs from L7 to L1 after 3c leaves a candle lit is a joke.
Also
Housing always has to go up, or the owner-voters revolt against whoever is in power. So all government policies favour housing appreciation, protect against depreciation, or simply avoid taking meaningful, proportionate and timely action that could cause prices to depreciate.
Even things like airbnb bans, getting rid of exclusionary zoning, etc. are too little, too late. Prices have already been inflated, and owner-occupiers are now holding things up because they can’t simply cash out, write off a loss and move their equity elsewhere because they need somewhere to live. Governments support those owner-occupiers (and often corporate landlords, for as long as they stay in the game) to ensure votes and campaign contributions continue.
We are sitting on a massive, fragile bubble that is getting harder and harder to prop up every year. With insurance issues, climate change, an aging population hoping/needing to cash out equity to fund their retirement, wages way behind inflation for millenials and Gen z, massive amounts of differed municipal infrastructure due to artificially low property tax, unemployment creeping up, etc. there are growing threats to the continued “housing always goes up” economy.
Almost all of that applies to NZ.
I thought that list was about NZ, until I got to fire trap…we don’t have that particular problem here.
The rest, well fairly spot on.