[jimbob45]

I wish this narrative would die. It's probably true that there's not enough housing but it's also true that AirBNB is sucking up many of the vacancies and apartment ownership consolidation is allowing owners to endure vacancies longer than they should be able to. You're simply never going to convince everyone that building more is the answer when there's such low-hanging fruit in front of everyone's eyes that you refuse to acknowledge.

[midwesternerer]

I don't understand why you are suggesting Airbnb isn't "fair" demand on the housing stock.

Also it is really hard to believe that Airbnb is a meaningful impact on housing prices outside of certain touristy locales. My suburban neighborhood has had 5+ offers on every house that has come for sale in the last year and there are no Airbnbs in the neighborhood and only two within a five mile radius.

The only real answer is to build more--not depend on the government to artificially constrict supply by regulating vacation rentals.

[bumby]

>The only real answer is to build more

I don't think this kind of dichotomous thinking generally holds with complicated real-world problems. They are almost always a confluence of multiple "answers".

E.g., yes, housing supply is probably part of the solution. But so may be integrating policies that disincentivize viewing something necessary (like housing) as an investment asset.

[midwesternerer]

I'm not sure what you are arguing with here. Housing is an attractive investment because the supply is constrained which drives up the price.

[bumby]

I'm not 'arguing', I'm trying to add some nuance.

I'm saying housing is a unique form of 'investment' for a variety of reasons. For one, it's an 'investment' that most people can't exit from because you have to live somewhere. It's also an investment that is relatively illiquid. It's also an investment where the majority of Americans wealth (about 70%, I believe) is tied up in, from which they borrow against. It's also a necessity.

These all combine to create an incentive for a bunch of wonky policies that can have negative societal consequences, like artificially inflating the price of housing. So, yes, the fact that it is considered a good financial investment is also part of the reason it creates societal problems.

It would be like artificially constraining the production of food so that those who have 'investments' in food companies can make more profit. Obviously good for the investors, probably less so with society as a whole. Now add a bunch of constraints like the friction of buying/selling those assets etc. and the problem gets worse.