• Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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    7 months ago

    It’s weird how in one of the richest countries in the world

    Not that weird when most of the riches are held by a handful of people. The rest of us are just trying to get by.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Yes that’s a problem, still Americans have higher average pay than most countries. With lots of room and cheap materials, it should be relatively easy to afford a house. And AFAIK it used to be that way. People could afford a house, car, children and health insurance on one income.

      • Franklin@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        It’s a mix of outdated zoning laws, investment firms buying up all the available housing and car centric infrastructure

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Items #1 and #3 are restatements of the same issue, and #2 is a red herring.

          The problem really is just car-centric zoning.

          • Franklin@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            No there’s other things that aren’t specifically car centric but are definitely a cause for undue expenditure.

            You don’t think that the firms looking to earn passive income and controlling a significant amount of the supply is an adding additional expense by adding an unneeded middleman?

            Don’t get me wrong car centric infrastructure can get fucked but I think it’s important we work on the problem from all angles.

            • grue@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              You don’t think that the firms looking to earn passive income and controlling a significant amount of the supply is an adding additional expense by adding an unneeded middleman?

              I think the ridiculous protectionist (for NIMBYs and the rich) laws restricting supply are the main reason their business model is so lucrative.

              If you hate big landlords and REITs, working to abolish zoning density restrictions is the best thing you can do in order to drive them to bankruptcy.

              • Franklin@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                I can guarantee you they would still find a way of profit on it and extract as much value as possible, that’s just capitalism’s end game.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        With lots of room

        Country size is irrelevant. People like clustering together in cities.

        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          True, but there is still generally better possibility to expand those cities outwards. But that requires that new building plots are developed, and made available at fair prices.

          If new legal building plots aren’t made available as needed, prices will increase on existing homes.

          • whoreticulture@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            7 months ago

            But that just means people are commuting in. There is cheaper housing spread out from the cities, but few people actually want to live there, and those who do will commute hours into the city for work. It’s often more prudent to rent in a city…

            We need density, not spreading out.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Continuing to sprawl outward is the worst thing we can possibly do. It is literally omnicidal.