[rsync]

"Homeowners have stable enough lives to have saved up a down payment, they tend to be older and have families. They also have a reason to not annoy their neighbors, because they will have to live with them for many years."

This can be generalized - beyond the housing debate - as "having skin in the game".

As someone who has been (at various times) a short and long term renter, a landlord, and a homeowner ... it rings true to me that, generally speaking, renters invest less in their homes and their neighborhoods and have less at stake in the outcomes of those neighborhoods/communities.

That was certainly the case with me as a renter.

I don't think it's morally negative to segregate neighborhoods on the basis of renting vs. owning. The attempts to link this kind of segregation to past periods of literal racial segregation is, in my opinion, going to find less and less traction - especially as non-white stakeholders (homeowners) aspire to the same kind of skin-in-the-game cooperation with their neighbors.

[whimsicalism]

> non-white stakeholders (homeowners) aspire to the same kind of skin-in-the-game cooperation with their neighbors.

What about the rampant housing discrimination in home-buying (without any enforcement) [0]? What about massive racial wealth disparates?

I think it is pretty naïve to suggest that the current backlash against having "renters" has nothing to do with race. Not more naïve than suggesting it only has to do with race, but close.

[0]: https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/real-estate-agents-...

[rsync]

Well, we could argue about this ad infinitum ...

Or, we could take a shortcut and ask those very people what they think and what they would like.

Which is to say, let's find some non-white stakeholders (homeowners) with skin in the game in their neighborhoods and communities and ask them what they think.

I drive through some very nice, very well ordered, single family zoned nieghborhoods in Fremont - the owners of which are predominantly non-white. The same exists in many other bay area communities.

Are those people vehemently advocating for upzoning and loss of local control ? Do those people have a strong preference for owners over renters ?

Genuinely curious ...

[Lammy]

Can I also be a stakeholder if I'd like to live in a particular neighborhood but have been priced out by their "local control"?

[throwawaysea]

Thanks for sharing that article. I agree that those who are setting different financial requirements for different races or asking for different information (like identification) before showing homes are discriminating based on race, and should be investigated. Leaving those instances aside, there are also times when directing clients to certain neighborhoods based on race may not be a bad thing. For example many minorities want to seek out a community they are comfortable with (in terms of language, access to religious services, ethnic grocery stores, or even just neighbors with similar lifestyles). This is especially true for first-generation immigrants or the elderly, for whom living in a less ethnically-accommodating neighborhood may be a difficult adjustment because they may not have shared experiences with those around them.

[davidw]

How do people get any "skin in the game" if the incumbents do their utmost to impose policies that prevent that from happening?

In some cities in California, houses are "earning" more on an hourly - yes, hourly - basis than many people do:

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article208678414.html

That's a bit dated, pre-pandemic, but it's likely still happening in places.

[whimsicalism]

I mean, the time derivative of housing prices has gotten higher during the pandemic, not lower.

[davidw]

In San Francisco proper, prices fell, because supply and demand are real, but those people spread out and prices are getting worse in a ton of other places, like where I live.

[whimsicalism]

> In San Francisco proper, prices fell, because supply and demand are real,

Source on real estate prices in SF falling?

[davidw]

Not huge drops, but going down at all is pretty amazing in that area. You can Google it for the details!

[karpierz]

> it rings true to me that, generally speaking, renters invest less in their homes and their neighborhoods and have less at stake in the outcomes of those neighborhoods/communities.

Note that this isn't true in locations with actual renter's rights, like Switzerland.