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dopkick t1_j41n74d wrote

Reply to comment by Expendable_Red_Shirt in What does eviction prevention accomplish. by LongjumpingShot

Have you seen recent mortgage interest rates? A cheap house's monthly payment is now easily an additional $300-500+ per month solely due to increased interest rates. And you're still on the hook for for repairs. The value proposition of new home ownership is currently fairly low.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_j41rmao wrote

I have. I’ve also seen the rent prices spike.

Cheap houses would be significantly cheaper if there weren’t people buying them as money making opportunities. If you cut a large amount of demand out of the market prices go down.

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dopkick t1_j41t4v8 wrote

> Cheap houses would be significantly cheaper if there weren’t people buying them as money making opportunities. If you cut a large amount of demand out of the market prices go down.

This doesn't happen in Baltimore the same as cities like Seattle, Austin, etc. The housing inventory in Baltimore greatly exceeds the demand. Having talked to people who flip houses, the profit margins are muuuuuuch smaller than you are imagining. It's not necessarily restaurant industry levels but the small time home flippers aren't living lavish lives.

There's also a floor in the cost of housing if you want to pay people a living wage. If you want laborers to make more than minimum wage there is going to be a significant cost increase in homes. Everyone's all about increased wages, right up until they're on the hook for paying the cost of those wages.

Also, if you want REALLY cheap housing that does exist too. You can score some dirt cheap places in meth-ridden Appalachia. But I suspect you want more than just cheap housing. You want cheap housing in a nice area that is convenient to things you enjoy and job opportunities. Just like everyone else. That increases the cost of things, even before any notion of profit.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_j41tgr4 wrote

The good housing absolutely does not exceed demand. That’s why prices are so ridiculous right now. And a large part of that is people who rent.

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dopkick t1_j41ts23 wrote

You do realize that not that long ago much of the now "good housing" was often "shit housing," right? Also, without those much maligned flippers there wouldn't be "good housing." There would still be "shit housing" that nobody wants to live in.

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Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_j41upx2 wrote

And that shit housing was purchased at an inflated rate…. There are also issues with supply that effect prices right now. I’m speaking more generally.

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dopkick t1_j41veg3 wrote

Do you think there is some sort of mass conspiracy to buy gut job homes at an inflated rate and sit on them for decades or something like that? Seems like the homes are purchased on the open market, often at auction, and quickly rehabbed and put back on the market. There's no shortage of newly renovated homes available.

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