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Re:A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M by emodendroket on Thursday August 17, 2017 @02:37PM (#15039526)
> If California had property taxes that, like other states, could increase as the assessed value of your home increases, the incentive to oppose new building would be significantly lessened and it would then be in everyone's best interest to keep housing costs low, not just those who rent or are looking to buy.

That might make rational sense but it is not how homeowners actually behave.

Re:A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M by bb611 on Thursday August 17, 2017 @04:16PM (#15040485)
I'v seen this extensively in multiple upper-middle income communities on the east coast. Houses that have tripled in relative value force their now retired owners to sell because they can't afford the higher property tax. Developers can buy above market because they demo the house and put down 2 houses that each sell for 75% the original home's value.

This scales for quite a long time, and is generally how suburbia transforms into, well, east San Jose.

It's not that homeowners make rational choices as a result, it's that over time they are pushed out and the rational choice is made by the larger market.

Re:A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M by emodendroket on Thursday August 17, 2017 @05:56PM (#15041413)
It seems like if you're retired and having trouble with property tax a reverse mortgage would be pretty attractive.