> You can’t argue that more housing supply is the answer to affordability problems and also argue that vacancy taxes are pointless.
Why not? If supply actually does work to reduce housing affordability problems, it takes the wind out of the sails of housing speculation.
Speculators are attracted to markets where things are going wild and there is the promise of making stacks of cash. If the market is boring and stable and there's enough for everybody, they aren't interested.
Leaving a home empty is naturally expensive because of carrying costs (property taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc.). The only way it's worth it is if appreciation is so crazy high that it more than offsets that. Fix that more basic problem of rapid appreciation, and speculation will solve itself.
Of course, once your real estate market is broken at a basic level, things like speculation will ensue, and maybe vacancy taxes are a useful band-aid then.
> Leaving a home empty is naturally expensive because of carrying costs (property taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc.). The only way it's worth it is if appreciation is so crazy high that it more than offsets that.
Why not? If supply actually does work to reduce housing affordability problems, it takes the wind out of the sails of housing speculation.
Speculators are attracted to markets where things are going wild and there is the promise of making stacks of cash. If the market is boring and stable and there's enough for everybody, they aren't interested.
Leaving a home empty is naturally expensive because of carrying costs (property taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc.). The only way it's worth it is if appreciation is so crazy high that it more than offsets that. Fix that more basic problem of rapid appreciation, and speculation will solve itself.
Of course, once your real estate market is broken at a basic level, things like speculation will ensue, and maybe vacancy taxes are a useful band-aid then.