Comment by danesparza
1 month ago
Zoning costs money everywhere. That's work that needs to be done by a person. That person gets paid. It's capitalism again.
Prop 13 actually limits property taxes and the assessments that can happen. You're actually hurting your argument with this point.
Regulations don't reduce supply because regulations don't purchase properties. People purchase properties and then that property is off the market.
The Bay Area is proof that limited supply (because there is only so much land in the area) + steady (or increasing) demand (because people need to live close to where they work for some baffling reason) will cause property values to raise steadily over time.
Again: It's supply and demand. Regulations have very little to do with price increases.
To be clear: I'm not anti-capitalist ... I'm just anti "wrong context"
> Zoning costs money everywhere. That's work that needs to be done by a person.
I'm not talking about the salary for a city planner who draws lines on a map. I'm talking about banning building denser housing via zoning.
> The Bay Area is proof that limited supply... will cause property values to raise steadily over time
The Bay Area has limited housing supply for a long time through single-family zoning, minimum lot sizes and other regulatory means.
> Prop 13 actually limits property taxes and the assessments that can happen.
Unaffordable property tax increases are a signal that the land is under-utilized. High property taxes due to land scarcity incentivize building more housing on the same land. Prop 13 takes away that signal. Or at least, it insulates existing and long-term homeowners from the effects of insufficient housing supply in their area. Their taxes don't go up so they have no reason to sell their house to someone who will build condos and apartments on that land.
> You're actually hurting your argument with this point.
I don't think you've taken the time to understand my points.
> Again: It's supply and demand. Regulations have very little to do with price increases.
Again: regulations can and do limit supply.