News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:California bill to add more housing in single-family neig... by yholio on Thursday May 16, 2019 @05:05PM (#19933214)
> People need houses to live in

I'm sure very few owners of multiples houses let them empty and not rent them out so that people can live in them.

Houses are expensive, even outside their speculative value, in terms of raw materials, workmanship etc. So expensive that few people can afford to buy houses with cash.

If someone is paying that cash to build a house, then offering it for an affordable rent so that other people can live in them, they are providing a valuable service.

Re:California bill to add more housing in single-family neig... by anon1m0us on Thursday May 16, 2019 @06:34PM (#19934122)
as I posted somewhere else as well: https://www.fastcompany.com/90305242/taxing-empty-apartments...

There are lots of vacant homes. Foreign buyers are pushing their wealth to the west to protect it from their own governments.

So yes, another strategy to lower housing costs is to reign in foreign ownership.