[exporectomy]

We had this in New Zealand a few years ago too. Prices kept climbing regardless (in my area, prices have doubled in the 3 years since the ban). The real problem is normal owner-occupier homebuyers since they do most of the buying. But they're also the common people and the "victims" so they can't easily blame themselves for their own greed and need a scapegoat like foreigners or investors.

[mymythisisthis]

I feel that normal people just don't have anywhere to invest. People are scared of inflation. Don't trust other financial investments, like stocks. They're putting money into buying 2nd, 3rd and 4th homes to rent out.

[mixmastamyk]

If that’s the case, with enough housing supply prices would be stable. Both can’t be true however.

[exporectomy]

Not entirely. In NZ, people really favor single family homes near or in big cities. That just doesn't scale because of finite land. Nobody wants to settle for a duplex or worse, an apartment. Perhaps eventually prices for those high density homes will be stable and single-family-home owners will be super rich.

[potatochup]

I don't know if the "most people want a single family home" thing is entirely accurate. Hobsonville Point is mostly terraced housing, duplexes and apartments and prices there are well above the surrounding mostly-single-family-home suburbs. I realize there are other reasons for high prices, like local schools, age of housing, etc, but I think it shows that the demand for medium density is there. It's just no one has been building any medium density housing in the last 50 years, and until the recent changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan, it was very difficult to re-develop existing single-family lots.

[exporectomy]

Perhaps Auckland has already reached the point where people have stopped caring and downgraded their expectations. Actually, Wellington too seems to recently have prices for attached townhouses approaching those of SFHs. A couple of years ago, the ratio of the two types of prices was greater.

[mixmastamyk]

Well yes, there’s always been more desirable properties. Location, location, location, and now especially? SFH.

[exporectomy]

I guess I wasn't clear that the popular outrage over prices is about prices of SFHs. People aren't accepting the possibility of having to buy an apartment like people in big cities all over the world do. Expectations haven't caught up with demographic changes.