Comment by dylan604 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by dylan604 | Hacker News Reader

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the higher prices are affected by the corporate buying of single family homes. for every home a corp buys, that's one less for individuals to buy. if the number of buyers remains the same but fewer homes are available, prices go up--seller's market. yes, prices go up adjusted for..., but inventory more competitively sought. the other issue is that the average buyer is looking to buy with financing while corps are paying cash. that makes for such a smoother transition for the seller that it is hard for them to turn down cash offers.

after corps, we have foreign buyers also coming in with cash offers. i know of one specific house that is empty for the majority of the year purchased by foreign owners specifically for their kid to live while attending college. the kid chose to not go to that school, so the house sits empty except for when some property manager comes by to "check in" on the place.

so while this thread is discussing still showing decent ownership percentages, those numbers are glossing over some of the "trends" in modern real estate.

It's overwhelmingly due to monetary policy which has inflated assets and depreciated real wages for decades.

https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

Restrictive zoning laws preventing construction in coastal cities is also a major factor. The cities which see the greatest declines in rents have the greatest increases in supply.

https://www.nmhc.org/contentassets/f9a5ef47d06143e6b8355cfad...

> affected by the corporate buying of single family homes

> after corps, we have foreign buyers also coming in with cash offers

As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, these are memes that are not actually backed by data - commonly perpetuated by groups that blame most issues on billionaires/corporations/investment firms.

So you're insinuating that the specific example of a house sitting empty owned by a foreign buyer is made up?

In my neighborhood specifically, there are homes being bought not by single families but specifically buy management companies so they can then rent the property. To deny this happens is just as much of a stick your head in the sand meme as what you are accusing me of.

They're saying it's overemphasized, which is why we don't rely on anecdata.

So you're insinuating that the specific example of a house sitting empty owned by a foreign buyer is made up?

I'm sure that happens occasionally. It's not nearly as significant as exclusionary zoning and other bad policies that prevent housing from being built.

In my neighborhood specifically, there are homes being bought not by single families but specifically buy management companies so they can then rent the property

Even in that case, the homes are still on the market.

Management companies will only buy a house if they think they can profit on it, and the price of the house is a cost for them too. This links the affordability of both types of housing: low rents can't support expensive real estate, and vice versa. The rental payments have to pay for the management company's mortgage.

No one is denying that it ever happens. It happens in so few numbers that it has no impact on the overall real estate market.

That's why your anecdote is meaningless and can be dismissed immediately.

bring the data to back your claims or be ignored like you are ignoring all the responses to you

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