Housing

Problems in the buyers'/renters' markets

Demand for housing of some kind is relatively inelastic
- Houses may be out of reach, making renting more appealing
- Demand can change if the population changes or decreases, for example, through urbanisation, transitions to remote/in-person work, natural disasters, etc.
Inaccessibility of homes
- A major avanue of generational wealth is not open for the young
- Because rental markets boom, it encourages landlords to purchase more property
High rent prices
- Tenants have little leverage because demand exceeds supply
- High rent prices discourages strikes and union action due to rentees having a lack of emergency funds

Large portions of personal wealth are tied to houses
- Expectations of buying low, selling high
- Housing inflation acts as economic crutch
Property and mortgages are high yield investments
- Many wealthy people buy property purely as an investment rather than as a living space

Ghettoization limits economic potential and sets the poor up for failure
- Areas with low property value see less business and less infrastructure development
  - Fewer jobs and resources leads to more crime and homelessness
- Future gentrification harms affordability
Long-term economic crash from generational wealth gap
- Younger generations see high rates of debt and are less likely to make major purchases
- Future generations have no home to leverage for old-age security, increasing social buden on the government

Most houses on the market are already owned
Lower prices can discourage development of new housing and investment
- Developers and landlords yield less return
The social burden that housing value staves off
- Older generations rely on their home value to cover old-age security

Regulation on construction of new housing
- Zoning laws & permits
Tenant laws and regulation of the rental market (rights of tenants)
- Governments can limit rent increases per year
Limits to property ownership
Tax policy
- Change in costs to owners may be passed onto tenants

Construction of public housing
- Housing prices lower due to stigma against poor and the inability for businesses to sell goods at higher prices
- Government can use eminent domain to seize property at a negotiated compensation
Government support for homeowners
- Social programs can support first-time homebuyers and supplement mortgages

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