logoalt Hacker News

fragmedeyesterday at 6:12 AM2 repliesview on HN

Taxing empty housing seems like the obvious answer. Make it more expensive and more work to keep it empty than it is to fill it.


Replies

Schiendelmanyesterday at 6:27 PM

This wouldn't be necessary if we weren't using zoning to restrict supply. The restrictions are what cause scarcity, and it's the scarcity that drives up prices. Land owners are already well incentivized not to let housing sit empty, unless their housing's value is being artificially pushed upward through the scarcity we create.

Basically, if we quit creating the housing problem with zoning restrictions, you wouldn't see housing sit empty, and it wouldn't matter anyway because the motivated self-interest of FAR more people would build housing to meet demand.

microgptyesterday at 2:30 PM

Which form do I file to claim that my empty house is not actually empty?

show 1 reply