Santa Monica is expensive because idiots run the city. (mortgage, buying a house)

[GSR13]

Originally Posted by gomason

Bigger problem is that developers are only building luxury buildings that cost an arm and a leg. They wont build more affordable garden apartments because they wont profit as much.

There's a high break-even point due to overinflated land costs. They'd lose money to build affordable garden apartments; they'd need a subsidy to have incentive.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by gomason

Bigger problem is that developers are only building luxury buildings that cost an arm and a leg. They wont build more affordable garden apartments because they wont profit as much.

Overregulation, red tape, and ridiculous mandates are the reason.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by majoun

Overregulation, red tape, and ridiculous mandates are the reason.

They'd still charge as much as the market would bear - regulations or not. Look at Hong Kong, where just about anything goes - apartments are sky high in price as well as altitude.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by silverkris

They'd still charge as much as the market would bear - regulations or not. Look at Hong Kong, where just about anything goes - apartments are sky high in price as well as altitude.

Santa Monica is a special case, given that there is something called an ocean there.

In general though, if regulations were greatly cut back, mandates and red tape done away with, zoning loosened, and both rent control and Prop 13 eliminated, housing would be more affordable. The only thing that works to lower the cost of housing, barring some disaster, is building more of it

[GSR13]

Originally Posted by majoun

Santa Monica is a special case, given that there is something called an ocean there.

In general though, if regulations were greatly cut back, mandates and red tape done away with, zoning loosened, and both rent control and Prop 13 eliminated, housing would be more affordable. The only thing that works to lower the cost of housing, barring some disaster, is building more of it

Restricting demand to domestic citizens and having normal interest rates would do wonders to lower housing costs.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by GSR13

Restricting demand to domestic citizens and having normal interest rates would do wonders to lower housing costs.

.

Higher taxation for foreigners like in Vancouver, Melbourne, and Washington, DC could have some smaller impact, but that would necessitate getting rid of 13 which will not happen in the immediate future. (Although once Jerry Brown's gone it's only a matter of time.) It doesn't seem to have lowered prices in DC and appears to have had only a small impact in Vancouver, as it's just pushed Asian buyers into the burbs.

Higher property taxes across the board would also lower property values, or at least keep them from rising more.

Agreed about interest rates. If we had interest rates like in the '80s that would help. We're not going to get them from a real estate speculator in the White House, though. For your ideas to be implemented we'd need Bernie Sanders as president or someone like him.

[adr3naline]

SaMo's affordability problems and SF's affordability problems are one in the same. A finite amount of space confined by water, hills, or highways, high paying jobs, and an NIMBYs crippling the ability to build upwards. Once you've bought something, you just sit an enjoy the appreciation. It's a game of climb up the ladder then pull it up behind you.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by majoun

Santa Monica is a special case, given that there is something called an ocean there.

In general though, if regulations were greatly cut back, mandates and red tape done away with, zoning loosened, and both rent control and Prop 13 eliminated, housing would be more affordable. The only thing that works to lower the cost of housing, barring some disaster, is building more of it

Dream on.

You want to buy, make more money.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by GSR13

Restricting demand to domestic citizens and having normal interest rates would do wonders to lower housing costs.

Nope at best flatten them. Currently we are at a 20 year low for houses being listed.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by majoun

.

Higher taxation for foreigners like in Vancouver, Melbourne, and Washington, DC could have some smaller impact, but that would necessitate getting rid of 13 which will not happen in the immediate future. (Although once Jerry Brown's gone it's only a matter of time.) It doesn't seem to have lowered prices in DC and appears to have had only a small impact in Vancouver, as it's just pushed Asian buyers into the burbs.

Higher property taxes across the board would also lower property values, or at least keep them from rising more.

Agreed about interest rates. If we had interest rates like in the '80s that would help. We're not going to get them from a real estate speculator in the White House, though. For your ideas to be implemented we'd need Bernie Sanders as president or someone like him.

Or like Obama, ......... wait they dropped with him too.

Now under Carter they went through the roof and hurt a LOT of people. People could not borrow, so many things they wanted to do they couldn't. And the businesses that offered such services were hurt.

You want to buy a house make more money.