Kamala's housing plan

As a first time home buyer back during the great recession, there was an $8000 credit at the time from the government that was super helpful for us.
Housing prices were pretty low at that point, but money was tight too so every little bit helped.
I know plenty of young people that the only thing preventing them from getting a house is lack of cash for a down payment. They are already paying exorbitant amounts for rent - so having some help to start building some equity would really help.
I still think they need to address the supply side by getting companies out of the housing market. Too many companies are buying homes for rentals - and that is hurting supply just as much as a lack of building. It boggles my mind that people aren't addressing that part.

 

This policy is how you know Kamala isnt a socialist! The only way to fix supply is to build more housing. Of course that's the one thing that will also lower existing homeowner's property value is by creating the necessary supply to satisfy demand. Our obsession with property value prevents acting accordingly. At best we try to throw money at developers, but they arent building low cost housing, they are chasing big dollars and not going to saturate supply. So we get the typical liberal policies of subsidies and tax breaks. Who's going to go all in on the government creating massive housing supply? Or god forbid, public housing projects?

 

LOL, here comes the free shit.

 

Increasing the Demand for housing isn't the way to lower the price of housing.

 

You think that people are choosing outside options to housing? Forcing people into rental markets doesn't lower housing prices.

 

It definitely raises rental prices! I suppose if we want even more homelessness, we could do that. Perhaps now that the courts say to can sic the cops on encampments and unhoused on public property without worry, out of sight out of mind will suffice for many.

 

Damn greedy builders gouging hard working people, time for some housing price controls.

 

It only increases the demand for housing if there are people choosing not to be housed at all because of the expense. So is your argument that there are enough of those people that we will see them shift the demand curve upward?

 

And raising rental prices...increases home prices as somebody can now make more money with that house.

 

It's always fun when you won't answer a simple question. I'll ask one more time. Do you think giving people 25k will increase housing prices?

 

I did, you just don't understand. I'll try to get you to understand again.

No, probably not. As it stands, those people will rent, which pushes the price of housing higher, as people buy housing to collect a greater amount of rental income. Switching some people from renters to buyers will lower demand for rental units, making housing a less attractive investment for people seeking to collect rents, serving to push demand down and counteracting any potential increase from more people trying to buy.

 

Our first time homebuyer credit was super easy in 2008

 

The price of housing has gone so high because demand is high and supply is low. Supply is low because 34% of single family homes are owned by investors - meaning they bought the house as an investment and are now renting it out. What's difficult is that only about 5% or so are big companies, the rest are smaller operations or single families. Maybe just one family buying a few homes to make some money. My father in law owns like 20 and retired and is living off the money he makes off renters just as an example.

Building new homes on its own is not enough to fix this problem, because at their current price point they will just be purchased by more investors. You have to find a way to get first-time homeowners to break into this market, so that involves either regulating investors who own homes to make that less profitable so you have less people looking to buy properties as landlords - which should drop prices, or you can give first time homebuyers a leg up so that they can actually just buy a house. The more people that get in houses, the less people need to rent, which should lower rental prices, which should move people out of buying homes as a way to make money, which should lower costs for other homebuyers.

Just IMO.

 

I’d be a fan if it was in conjunction with house building initiatives. Home ownership is most people’s wealth building so access is important. But this will push up demand and prices. As a homeowner I’m not complaining though.

 

The government gives my organization a lot of money at the local and federal level to build low income housing. There are rules in place for how that all works to guarantee it is affordable...And that works.

I wonder if the better option is to broaden that and thus make houses cost less. (like the ones we build) or if its better to give it as a down payment?

Again, like other things, if you do this, there needs to be a cap.

A lawyer who has rented in Manhattan for 15 years and decides to buy a house in the burbs, doesn't need the 25k.

I think subsidized low cost construction makes more sense. You then put limits in flipping. Here at Habitat if a buyer wants to flip it, they have to seel it back yo us for a minimum profit for the first several (7, I think?) years. This keeps investors from trying to cheat the system and makes the houses truly affordable.