The actual cost of construction/materials of the house itself makes a negligible part of real estate speculation. A huge chunk of properties are bought with the expectation that they will not last more than a few decades.
We already face the scenario where people have to commute for over an hour each way to work in a city where they cannot afford to live. Let's not pretend that cost of constructing that shitty house a hundred years ago factors into the conversation. Should rich people be able to buy up land (and mineral rights underneath it) all over the country? What happens when there is none of it left?
> Should rich people be able to buy up land (and mineral rights underneath it) all over the country?
TFA is literally about giving people who don’t have the capital to outright buy a house the ability to invest in real estate. Like, you think real estate is a good place to put your money but you only have $5000 you can afford to invest. Or you want to spread out your investment across different markets but can’t afford to buy 20 homes.
I think if TFA was posted without the highly biased editorializing this discussion would be a lot different.
We already face the scenario where people have to commute for over an hour each way to work in a city where they cannot afford to live. Let's not pretend that cost of constructing that shitty house a hundred years ago factors into the conversation. Should rich people be able to buy up land (and mineral rights underneath it) all over the country? What happens when there is none of it left?