[podunkPDX]

Living here in Portland, though, my fear is that it won’t be developers taking a flyer to build these homes, it will be the investor class bankrolling the developers to build permanent rental properties.

Hoping I’m wrong, but the last few decades’ antics with investors tells me I’m not.

[cycrutchfield]

What’s with all the handwringing over investors and developers? Yes, some people will benefit from this decision, just as some people would have benefited from the opposite decision. Who cares? The only thing that will reduce housing prices is more housing being created.

[nitrogen]

People want more than just housing from housing. Some people want a system of wealth distribution to allow new entrants to the market (the young and/or disadvantaged) to build capital. Some want a place that they can call their own and customize as they see fit. Some want to be invested in a community. Some don't want to have to listen to and smell their neighbors through cheaply built shared walls.

If the existing capital holders build a bunch of rentals, then many of those goals are not possible.

[0815test]

People have all sorts of delusions. Cheaper housing, by and large, makes it easier for new entrants to build wealth, whilst having a place that they can call their own.

[cycrutchfield]

That’s great and all. Let’s just continue with single family homes then. You know what’s better than that young couple having to rent for a while instead of buy? Having them be priced out completely and forced to commute from an hour away or move out of the area entirely.

[sjg007]

Maybe. You may get owners who live in one duplex and rent the others out. Or two couple Buy two and rent the others out. Lots of options. I would do it. In fact seems like a good reason to move to Minneapolis.

[ajxs]

I'm a little speechless that so many people seem to think that this decision will empower the owners of these lots more so than investors. It takes a significant capital investment to convert a single dwelling into a duplex. At the very least for most people this will require incurring a significant mortgage, more likely than not just being outright prohibitively expensive. It's not like every piece of land will become twice as valuable in practice, that will take quite some time for the demand to catch up to the supply. In the meantime, the land is slowly purchased by developers and investors to build multi-tenant dwellings.

[sjg007]

Banks will offer special financing, it will be straightforward once a model is proved. You can get remodeling loans. You can build a home with 3% down. You can buy into a neighborhood (crappy teardown where the property is basically the land value). This is not a difficult thing.