Seattle's push to add additional regulation, compliance, fees and inspections has resulted in an exodus of small landlords, which are down anywhere from 19% to 22% in four years depending on how you slice it, and an explosion in large landlords which are up 77% in the same period.
The city has basically consolidated the rental market so it works best for large corporations. Was that the intent?
Small landlords don't own apartment buildings. They buy houses/units to rent, lowering availability for buyers. So, you'd at least want to look at the number of new apartment rentals available plus the number of first time house buyers to get a better picture.
Your last point was that some people prefer to rent. I don't think it's irrelevant to compare that to the number of people who would prefer to own.
pnw · · focus · HN ↗
The city has basically consolidated the rental market so it works best for large corporations. Was that the intent?
tonyhb · · focus · HN ↗
dmitrygr · · focus · HN ↗
This makes an unsubstantiated assumption that everyone would rather buy and can afford to, ignoring that people have reasons to rent.
InitialLastName · · focus · HN ↗
A) Households who are currently renting who would prefer to own their home
B) Households who currently own who would prefer to be renting
I'm going to guess A >>> B, but I've never seen the data.
dmitrygr · · focus · HN ↗
InitialLastName · · focus · HN ↗