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Comment by peatmoss | Hacker News Reader

I know it's typical to speak in those terms, but I still can't get over how value-laden a statement like, "rental market weakens" is. Clearly the market is weaker / less good if you have property to rent out, but I know a "weak market" is cause for celebration for many here in Seattle.

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The headline should be "renters will have more of their income available to spend on other things, which will improve the local economy, diversify it, and make it more resilient". I've never understood the US obsession with increasing housing costs being a good thing. As a thought experiment it would be far better for them to go down by 8% a year than the 8% increases that keep being welcomed as in this article.

It's not that people want housing to be more expensive, but they do want that housing to be in demand. Housing is in demand when an area is desirable -- offering good schools, providing efficient social services, vibrant and diverse markets are contributing factors to a desirable area, so when housing prices increase it is a sign that the area is desirable. As an area becomes more desirable, the price of housing goes up as the result.

If rents always went down there'd be no incentive to build and own supply. I think the thought experiment here is that though this is a seemingly simple supply and demand problem on the surface its also exceedingly complicated to actually plan and adjust for due to all the related inputs to housing (schools, water, fire, political representation, etc.)

I've always thought that people in power tended to invest in real estate, and the obsession with increasing housing prices (not only a US thing) was those people simply protecting their interests.

I was thinking same thing. To me, this shows sign of development and progress.

It's just like saying "the dollar weakens".

People owning dollars are sad. People not owning dollars are happy.

What would be a adaquete replacement? Lessens?

Agree, GP is quite an overreaction to the phrasing.

"Prices fall"

Landlords pay for the ads in the news outlets.

And tenants don't? Though I suppose tenants' interests are far more heterogeneous and disperse.

Huh? Landlords literally buy ad space in these papers. Tenants do not advertise.

I suspect that the parent was saying was that the tenants pay the cost of that advertising spend, eventually. He's absolutely right, though I'm not sure where his response came from.

Yeah, I recently interned in Seattle and the housing was really high. My housing stipend covered it, and I was renting a short term furnished apartment. But my single bed in a four bunk bed room was more expensive than my one bedroom apartment in a midwest college town.

You'll hear the same regarding stock market valuations, as if the magnitude and direction of the broad stock market on any given day is directly indicative of national prosperity, regardless of the absolute level, path (or "trend"), volatility, etc.

A new boom for Seattle's burgeoning artisan tiny lute makers economy.

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