Sure there is. An enormous chunk of housing sits unused and empty because real estate speculators want to rent them out at exorbitant prices rather than use it for it's intended purpose of having a roof over people's heads.

Pass nationwide legislation that restricts owning housing for commercial purposes beyond a certain threshold, and put rent controls in place pegged to 20% of the median income per town/city. You'd eliminate 95% of homelessness before the ink was dry, massively increase homeownership rates, and be the most popular politician of an era.

It's not even an ebil communist plot, and it'd still be more effective than giving even more money to private developers on a pinky promise they'll build something people can afford, just trust them this time.

[–] Pandemanium@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

An enormous chunk of housing sits unused and empty because real estate speculators want to rent them out at exorbitant prices rather than use it for it's intended purpose of having a roof over people's heads.

If they are renting it out at exorbitant prices, then it's not empty. If it's empty, then they get zero money. You're saying it's both, which makes no sense. Interest rates and property taxes are both high right now. It costs investors money to hold empty property without renting it out. They don't have to wait for people to pay inflated prices. The demand is already there.

I'm all for more regulation, especially for developers and investors. Stiupulate that at least 50% of all new housing built be affordable. Give incentives to rehab old condemned properties. And stop letting AI algorithms determine rental prices.

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 27 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

According the the last census there are 15.1 million houses and apartments sitting empty in the US, roughly 29 properties for every one unhoused person in America.

[–] Pandemanium@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When I looked it said 13.9 million. But how many of those are habitable? Does that number include Airbnbs? Properties stuck in probate or the foreclosure process? How many of them are in senior communities that don't allow younger people or families? The census data doesn't specify any of that.

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's true, there might only be as few as 15 vacant properties for every person we are currently allowing to freeze to death.

[–] BurgerPunk@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago

Yes there is. The problem is housing is treated as a commodity instead of a basic human right