Post AwfEdY8nFuPEmB03kW by orloff@sfba.social
 (DIR) More posts by orloff@sfba.social
 (DIR) Post #AwfD6o2f0zGwa8xDfs by rms@mastodon.xyz
       2025-07-30T15:54:38Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/24/california-investor-owned-homes*A fifth of California homes are investor-owned as state’s affordability crisis deepens.* The obvious approach to correcting this is to increase taxes on houses owned by large investment companies.
       
 (DIR) Post #AwfEdY8nFuPEmB03kW by orloff@sfba.social
       2025-07-30T16:11:41Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @rms Taxes are not going to solve a complex political problem around homeownership becoming an investment vehicle that simultaneously bears most families net worth but also locks out new owners.What is needed is unlocking the potential to build and sell homes for about what they cost to manufacture, $200-300k, by creating more competition and less ways to block housing development.Investors wouldn't be soaking up new properties if there wasn't significant barrier to market entry; we need to remove that barrier.
       
 (DIR) Post #AwfgN6ewSd6fcvz7JY by wbpeckham@techhub.social
       2025-07-30T21:22:29Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @rms I think it would help more if the state were to build and sell at cost houses that must by law belong to individual families and could not be sold to those investment firms.  Actually, perhaps a combined approach would be appropriate. The only sure thing is that it needs to be addressed in every state in the union in a way that makes sense in that state. Federal guidance would be appropriate, but for that we will have to wait until we again have a federal government that actually works.