[cplantijn]

I've worked as an intern at a commercial property company (Colliers International) several years ago. One thing I've learned is that commercial property (be it office or residential) is always being sold. They are essentially large bonds you can touch and live in.Party A develops or buys the building, gains an annuity via rent, attempts to raise rent slowly over a few years (thus increasing the value of the property), and selling it to Party B, which repeats the process. In commercial residential buildings, this process happens faster than in an office building because leases are shorter and residential tenants can accept rent raises every 2-3 years. In this business model, Long Term thinking is not in the best interest of making profit.

[pault]

Every two to three years? The apartments I've lived in raise the rent by $100 every year without fail.

[mr_overalls]

Do you live in a high-priced urban area? I'm curious what this increase is for you as a percentage of total rent.

[pault]

It's about 0.5%.

[wallace_f]

Markets are made by both buyers and sellers. Demand is ostensibly driven by consumers, and value created by meeting consumer demands.

Are consumers demanding the above with their money and not just their mouths? I doubt it.

[mcculley]

That thing that interests me is that it is a clear market failure. 30 year bonds pay a higher interest rate than 5 year bonds. So one would think there is incentive to plan better for a building that lasts for 30 years. But we are changing the climate and other things with effects that will be felt long before 30 years. The U.S. Treasury does not offer bonds beyond 30 years, so presumably the entire system can't plan for a time horizon beyond that.

[Spooky23]

Don’t forget the tax shelter aspect of it. Many real estate transactions are driven by moving tax liabilities around.