tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post6623732191549970313..comments2024-03-29T03:50:00.893-04:00Comments on Urban kchoze: How to make urban housing more affordable part 3: build more urban mixed use neighborhoodsimval84http://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-35381838967440138702014-05-12T18:10:16.481-04:002014-05-12T18:10:16.481-04:00Being a bit of a devil's advocate, there… Prop...Being a bit of a devil's advocate, there… Prop 13 has created a lot of pent-up taxation inequality in the past few decades. It does primarily benefit rich people, so it's obviously regressive. The solution in California has been to gradually increase income taxes and centralize funding for infrastructure and government services at the state level.<br /><br />The relatively late development of cities in California (ie after the advent of the motor age) means that the "historic" neighborhoods tend to be low-density. But at the same time, there tends to be unusually high density in postwar suburbs in Southern California. Places like the San Fernando Valley or Irvine are almost entirely low-rise apartment buildings, versus, say, Hancock Park, which is largely 1920s mansions, or Watts, which is largely 1920s bungalows. This inverse density distribution correlates with a wider geographic distribution of jobs, among other things.John Hupphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12161907433685474890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-41506559578082371932014-05-11T18:52:54.336-04:002014-05-11T18:52:54.336-04:00I understand the issue of people being "force...I understand the issue of people being "forced" to leave their home is an emotionally charged one, however, I think we must approach the issue rationally:<br /><br />1- If houses get very expensive, then typically the property tax rate will decline because the city will not have to tax property value as much to fund its basic services. For instance, the property tax rate in many suburbs near Montréal in which housing is pretty cheap is around 1% of the property value. In Vancouver, where houses are quite expensive, the property tax rate is around 0,38% and declining because house values are increasing.<br /><br />2- There are other ways of helping seniors, like reverse mortgages, essentially the homeowners get revenue by borrowing from their house's value. They only need to repay that loan when they sell their house. Alternatively, cities could simply make a program that allow them to put tax liens on housing owned by seniors, to be repaid when the house is sold off. <br /><br />3- Home owners whose houses have become massively valuable are not necessarily badly off, they have a lot of money in it if they sell. Sure, their wealth may be illiquid and they may be emotionally invested in their home, but still, on a strictly financial analysis, they are quite fortunate.<br /><br />4- There is an issue of fairness. If you under-tax long-term owners, then the services that the taxes pay for still need to be paid for. What happens then? Well, new owners end up paying more. Is that really fair to increase the tax burden on young families who still have student debts, mortgages and the like just to advantage seniors? simval84https://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-15329759539587502862014-05-11T15:33:21.536-04:002014-05-11T15:33:21.536-04:00Another factor that gives NIMBYs power in Californ...Another factor that gives NIMBYs power in California is Proposition 13, which limits tax appreciation for long-time homeowners and insulates them from the effects of gentrification. If only we had high taxes forcing old people out of their homes, redevelopment would be so much easier! Yeah I'm not sure if that would be a good thing. Prop 13 is really morally ambiguous.John Hupphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12161907433685474890noreply@blogger.com