Rents increasing: Let the Good Times Roll

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by MRT144
but that assumes that people are willing to move into high rises as a consumer decision.

I'm willing to live in an apartment more than a house (proximity with the city-centre + good mass transit where population density is high)

I wouldn't mind a high-rise if it is significantly cheaper than a small rise. I have friends who currently live in high rises by choice.

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Oerdin
This is China. What choice do they have? There is no where else to go but up.

i thought we were talking bout america

[DaShi]

Re: Who is renting then?

Originally posted by pchang
You can't rent out at an exorbitant price unless someone can afford it. Therefore,
1) There must still be plenty of high income renters our there
or
2) The landlords can afford to keep many apartments empty

1) Yes, there are enough.

2) Yes, if they can sell enough expensive ones, they can hold the empty ones to keep prices up.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Oerdin


If the government stepped in to help finance more high rises then eventually supply would exceed demand and the speculators will be left upside down with their mortgages.

Eventually they might when it gets bad enough. For now, they quietly support it (or ignore it) because it helps the upper class, which they are trying to foster to give their economy more strength. A few token measures are usually passed to quell protesters, however.

[pchang]

You forget

the most important thing.

High Ranking Party Types and the Upper Class are one and the same for the most part in China.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Spiffor
It's not unusual to see people spending 2/3 of their income on rent. They pretty much spend nothing but rent and food. You can even see people getting in debt to remain in a home, rather than living on the streets.

QFT. Rent is pure evil.

[General Ludd]

I'm seriously considering living in a cardboard box while attending university.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I'm seriously considering living in a cardboard box while attending university.

I did that. We passed it off as a 'townhouse'.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I'm seriously considering living in a cardboard box while attending university.

fight The Man!

[DaShi]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I'm seriously considering living in a cardboard box while attending university.

Not a dorm!

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by General Ludd
I'm seriously considering living in a cardboard box while attending university.

I thought Canada had a cold weather.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Spiffor

I thought Canada had a cold weather.

This is true. but I have a sleeping bag rated for winter use. I'm told the trick is to sleep naked inside the bag.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Spiffor
They're also a sign that the society relies too much on market mechanisms to satisfy the needs.

There are several significant social phenomena that bring an increase in housing prices pretty much everywhere:

- A consequence of being in a urban society is that there is an immense premium for land close to city centres. Cities will get more pressure from a rise in demographics too, because few city dwellers get rid of their city-house, and many rurals (both from within and without the country) want to live there.

- We live in a society where more people live an autonomous life alone, instead of being in a family. A cross-country student will need his own housing. A mobile worker will need his own housing, while his family remains in a stable spot. An immigrant will need his own housing. A divorcee will need his own housing.
Roommating offsets this phenomenon a bit, but not all of it.

- We are beginning to reach the limits of city-range. You can't go much further than a two-hours commute to work, and car-traffic ain't much faster now than 40 years ago. As a result, going further from the city in order to find bargain land prices isn't necessarily an obvious option at it used to be. Especially in cities where suburbian sprawl is already spread very far.

- With the price of land being what it is, and with construction standards being what they are (safety standards, environmental standards), building housing is an expansive endeavour. The only way the market can seriously raise supply isn't through individuals (who'll basically own their own house, and maybe an extra), but through big investors, who are the only ones who can build vertically, as is needed.
And in order to turn a tidy profit, investors will cater the needs of upper-class customers, because that's where a profit is to be made. The poor, those who might even not pay their rent, aren't a market worthy of such heavy investments.
This is why non-market mechanisms have to be used to increase the supply of housing that is actually affordable to the poor. Everybody benefits (except the owners who rent) in the long run, because once the poor are housed, the demanders on the private market have much less pressure from other demanders.

Not much of what you say relates to the US, I'm afraid.

[Spiffor]

Are you going to tell me that private investors are currently building a large supply of cheap housing in the US?

[Ramo]

Moving to Houston and doubling my rent.