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Could the elderly afford to live in California if their homes were assessed periodically, and their property taxes rose as a result? That's the system in most places.
Could the young not afford to live in California if new homes were built close to cost, and land values were not inflated by zoning restrictions? Very few places in the US have urban growth boundaries.
I think the elderly in California on fixed incomes are the ones who can't afford to live there, not the professional couple making $250k who are priced out. It's only because the rules were changed 40 years ago that the elderly can stick around.
Changing the rules of the game to protect your position after you have gained is cheating. Having newcomers operate under the same rules you did is playing fair.
So you want to kick old people out of their homes they have lived in all their lives so yuppies can move in to them.
So do you believe generational favoritism for existing property owners will lead to a more equal society? It sounds more like feudalism than progressivism to me...
That is not the question as it is property owners that pay property tax and ALL property in California is subject to the same rate.
No different than two people go in and buy identical luxury cars... one pays 20% less...
The one that pays 20% less also pays 20% less Sales Tax AND lower registration fees going forward.
In my neighborhood... I am the existing property owner having move in January 2004... my next door neighbor bought in 2010 and pays significantly less property tax for a 40 year newer home and nearly double the size the of my home...
If your premise were true... he should be paying more than me but he isn't because he bought during the Real Estate collapse and paid less than the assessed value of my home.
A tax due on the value at the time of transfer favors no one... it is what it is.
Exactly, Prop 13 causes people to not want to sell, and creates a landed aristocracy if you will
No at all... any look back even 10 years and you will see every block in my city had at least one bank owned property... people were fleeing Real Estate akin to a sinking ship.
Many simply decided they did not want to own in a market of falling prices... I have co-workers that did just that and they have very good jobs... but decided they could bail and cut their housing cost by 50% as renters.
As for not selling to keep Prop 13... the voters in California allow seniors to downsize and take Prop 13 with them... so no Prop 13 to blame when you can take it with you... anywhere in the county and and several counties have reciprocal agreements.
how in the world do illegal aliens have higher purchasing power than a legal immigrant? if illegals had money, they would buy their way in and be legal
illegal immigrants do not drive up housing costs
Yes they do, they pool their resources and take up the affordable housing and cause increased competition for all housing. They put upward pressure on prices and downward pressure on wages.
The real question in my mind-WHY do people want to live in some of the most overpriced, overcrowded and often...crappy (literally, with the bums defecating in the streets) cities in the country? Sure wages are good, but what good is making $250k a year when you are looking at $2 million for a crappy little house on a tiny lot, or worse, renting a tiny apartment and never even owning your own place?
California is a huge state, with most of it only lightly populated. Why do so many feel like they are entitled to live in the most expensive places?
One of the reasons is California has a proven record of creating options... countless times I see those with the same feelings cash out and take their windfall with them...
It is possible that many see California as simply a stepping stone on their path.
Any look will find crappy 2 million dollar home on a tiny lot the exception... California is vast and one simply cannot cherry pick SF or the Silicon Valley as representative of the State... even the politics vary depending on location.
Parent/Child transfer of Grandparent/Grandchild transfer should the parent be deceased are the only work around I know to exclude re-assessment upon transfer.
It is not automatic and must be applied for with supporting documentation.
Had friends that bought a condo starting out... lived their about 12 years... her Mom had a 3 bedroom home that was too big... I suggested they do a swap... worked out great for them and something they had not realized was possible tax wise.
Ha! I know. I lived in them for some time. Most beautiful place.
I'm not really sure what you're saying here... are you wishing that the "incumbents" be forced out or disadvantaged in favor of the newcomers?
Incumbents got here first. We claimed the land. We paid for it. It's ours.
Newcomers can't just waltz in and demand things change for their convenience. It doesn't work that way. You find a way to adapt to the current environment, or you find another location that better suits your needs.
Also, what Rambler123 said regarding limited resources is true. People from back east often don't realize just how much water drives zoning and growth out west.
But what's happening is communities seek to price the immigrant riff raff out and in the process price decent middle and working class Americans out. It's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There use to affordable and nice neighborhoods before all this mass immigration nonsense.
Ha! I know. I lived in them for some time. Most beautiful place.
Truly magnificent in all their grandeur...
One of my childhood friends did the off grid thing to live deep in a redwood forest... spring water and a view of the Pacific Ocean from one spot on his land 7 miles from pavement in Santa Cruz mountains...
Only visited a few times but always leave feeling re energized...
I'm not really sure what you're saying here... are you wishing that the "incumbents" be forced out or disadvantaged in favor of the newcomers?
Incumbents got here first. We claimed the land. We paid for it. It's ours.
Newcomers can't just waltz in and demand things change for their convenience. It doesn't work that way. You find a way to adapt to the current environment, or you find another location that better suits your needs.
Also, what Rambler123 said regarding limited resources is true. People from back east often don't realize just how much water drives zoning and growth out west.
Except you don't keep paying for it, because your property's assessed value only changes when it is sold. That's highly unusual, and highly unfair. Many people in places like New Jersey are forced to sell their properties because they cannot afford the property taxes after a reassessment. This increases supply for newcomers, and leads to more economic efficiency by removing a market distortion in favor of incumbents.
All of the homeowners telling newcomers to roll up their sleeves and pay the piper are neglecting to confront that they themselves have not paid the piper in a long time, and the assessed values of their properties are ridiculously low. A rolling assessment cycle that reassesses all properties on some schedule is much fairer than the regime created by Proposition 13.
A tax due on the value at the time of transfer favors no one... it is what it is.
Are you confusing capital gains taxes with property taxes? Property taxes on real estate whose value is only reassessed at the time of sale absolutely favors long-time owners.
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