Loosening planning permissions and then building for building's sake isn't the panacea we need. Developers left to their own devices are building horrible quality houses (to squeeze the margin due to the insane cost of land), in often badly planned housing estates with no civic architecture.
Where your analogy falls down is that medallions suffer only from man made scarcity, however land is genuinely scarce - if I own a specific piece of land I monopolize it, no else can use it - so in a sought after area that land is mad expensive. However I've done nothing to earn any increase in its value over time. The fair method to reduce house prices would be to tax the unearned increase in land value . Owners would be forced to use it for something efficient or else sell up. Reducing demand for the land is as important as increasing supply (of the right kind of housing - in my opinion public housing)
"The best indicator that they might work is that the groups interested in maintaining property prices absolutely hate them. It’s also one of the best indicators that they might get watered down."
Loosening planning permissions and then building for building's sake isn't the panacea we need. Developers left to their own devices are building horrible quality houses (to squeeze the margin due to the insane cost of land), in often badly planned housing estates with no civic architecture.
Where your analogy falls down is that medallions suffer only from man made scarcity, however land is genuinely scarce - if I own a specific piece of land I monopolize it, no else can use it - so in a sought after area that land is mad expensive. However I've done nothing to earn any increase in its value over time. The fair method to reduce house prices would be to tax the unearned increase in land value . Owners would be forced to use it for something efficient or else sell up. Reducing demand for the land is as important as increasing supply (of the right kind of housing - in my opinion public housing)
Superb article, as always.
"The best indicator that they might work is that the groups interested in maintaining property prices absolutely hate them. It’s also one of the best indicators that they might get watered down."
How right you were.