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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by sbv@sh.itjust.works to c/canada@lemmy.ca

Time to loosen zoning restrictions and say no to NIMBYs Ms. Mayor. *

Despite earning around $90,000 a year between her work as mayor, regional councillor and with the local electric utility, she says she can’t afford to buy a home in the municipality she leads.

* yeah, she's still paying off student loans, and I don't know what zoning restrictions are like in her community. But still.

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[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 year ago

Home owners loving those paper gains and won't realize it destroys the social fabric of their communities until it's too late.

Most home owners I know either

  1. Don't want the gains, because they can't afford to buy a nicer place even if they sell their current place.

  2. Are unhappy about growing mortgage payments.

  3. Are worried about their kids being able to afford a place.

The gains only benefit people who can cash out and move away. Most homeowners (I know) wouldn't want to borrow against the house value because repayment is so expensive.

[-] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That is true. The value of my home doesn't mean much to me. If it is worth $1 tomorrow, oh well? Who cares?

But it is troubling to think what will happen when most other homeowners are underwater and their debt gets called. That is going to hurt all of us.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Yeah homes being viewed as an investment is stupid and only came to be for those that could afford to buy lots.

[-] EhForumUser@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Homes became an investment when living near your workplace became a necessity. Any tool which facilities an income is going to naturally become an investment. That's what investment is.

The COVID thing decoupling some jobs from location has helped marginally – seeing a small decline in home values (although perhaps moving it to places where jobs were previously less commonly found) – but that can only get you so far. The vast majority of income sources are still location dependent.

[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

HELOCs may burn some folks. They were gaining popularity while interest was low. That is going to add to the burden of those who loaded up on debt.

[-] Shard@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I might actually be happy if my home was suddenly only worth a dollar.

That would cut my property tax way down

[-] BedSharkPal@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

Well someone should tell them to vote that way. There's a reason no party other than the greens will even dare speak of the fact that prices need to come down to increase affordability.

[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I'm guessing the next federal election will be on pocketbook issues. I don't know where home ownership will fit in there.

[-] yiliu@informis.land 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
  1. Still don't support re-zoning their area to allow denser mixed-use housing (in my experience).
[-] GrindingGears@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

AKA the boomers win again, like fucking always.

[-] Tathas@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

And interest rates are at least 2x what many homeowners currently have.

this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
303 points (97.5% liked)

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