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Comment by jurmous | Hacker News Reader

Amsterdam is a city being overrun by tourists and that is something local councils should be able to control. Locals have difficulty to find homes as prices are raising to high levels.

https://nltimes.nl/2016/10/13/amsterdam-center-overrun-touri...

https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/amsterdam-is...

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/01/amsterdam-house-prices...

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I don't understand why houses should be excluded from the capitalistic process; If councils were doing their job and permitting sufficient housing construction, then high prices = more housing = everyone is happy.

I'm no expert on Amsterdam, but checking your last article mentions rent control; why would property developers bother building new housing when the returns are artificially deflated by government action? This is precisely the problem with regulations, they damage price signals. It would not at all surprise me if the government is in part causing all of these problems.

I will also note that housing being expensive in a large, popular city is basically the case the world over, and I suspect tourists are just an easy scapegoat to deflect blame from policy failure.

Because housing is a human right.

> I don't understand why houses should be excluded from the capitalistic process

Because it sucks and nothing should be included in it.

> I suspect tourists are just an easy scapegoat to deflect blame from policy failure.

There was a policy failure, in allowing Airbnb to run huge unlicensed hotel business.

This policy is addressing that. They didn't stop Airbnb from operating, they just made sure that they operate more in line like other hotels.

This will in turn enable them to make sure that the tourist flow is sustainable, by raising or lowering tourist taxes on such rentals.

Maybe, just maybe, high prices is instead because Amsterdam is building about half as much housing as it did 40 years ago, and significantly less than population growth.

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