[dgudkov]

It wasn't like that. The inflated real estate market is a result of several factors that emerged in the last 15-20 years and combine and reinforce each other:

- A decade of near-zero interest rates

- A lack of investment opportunities: real estate usually has a below average ROI but there is nothing else to invest in nowadays (look at startup valuations to understand how desperate investors have become)

- Too much money printed worldwide (again, look at startup valuations)

- The desire to park money earned (or stolen) in developing countries in a Western country that hypocritically turns a blind eye on money origin because banks, construction industry, and legislators (who own real estate en masse) all are interested in heating up the market as much as possible (looking at you, Canada)

What makes it worse, is that all stakeholders are now locked up in this situation. Increasing interest rates is not possible because it will bankrupt millions of families with mortgage. Western countries are in the late industrial cycle, so creating new investment opportunities is problematic until a new industrial cycle begins. In this situation central banks have no choice but to print money and lie about inflation as long as possible because there is no way this whole situation can be resolved without money losing value.

[toomuchtodo]

Without regulation, capital will strangle society and the future to squeeze whatever returns can be juiced from both. This is to be expected with secular stagnation [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_stagnation

[closeparen]

Making housing stagnant and expensive is a popular initiative waged against capital.

[toomuchtodo]

Ahh, but you can make housing accessible without making it expensive, using policy. People have rights, capital does not.

[closeparen]

Aren't you usually the first to point out how people who don't currently own houses somewhere, don't have rights?

[toomuchtodo]

I point out the observation of current state, absolutely. I also believe in and contribute to progressive policies and candidates (respectively) who will hopefully improve the situation through policy. Please don’t interpret my analysis and understanding of a system as an endorsement of it. What is the point of property and capital if the outcome is dystopian and feudal?

Both people and systems are complex and not boiled down to binaries. Thanks for getting to know me a bit more!

[closeparen]

That’s fair, I apologize for misattributing your position.

I just can’t shake the perception that the more power there is in local, bottoms up, grassroots democracy, the less housing (and transit, and everything else) there will be. Seems like we only got what we have because communities weren’t empowered enough, back then, to hold back capital.