>>Seth Ackerman wrote:
>>
>>> You follow the urban scene, Doug. What do you think of rent control?
>>
>>Compared to what? Compared to expropriation of greedhead landlords
>>and their public humiliation? Or to an unregulated market?
>>
>>Rent control does produce many strange phenomena. Near-identical
>>apartments in my building in Manhattan can rent for $400 or $2400,
>>depending on the vintage of the tenant. The "market" rate for my
>>$950 apartment would probably be over $2000. Needless to say, I'm
>>fond of paying half the "market" rate, but it's a privilege not
>>available to newcomers. I put "market" in quotes because the market
>>rate is the marginal cost of a very scarce commodity; people stay
>>put who might otherwise move, so it's hard to say what a real free
>>market in New York apartments would look like.
>>
>>Still, anything that keeps a lid on rents is welcome;
>
>
>But it doesn't keep a "lid on rents": it keeps a lid on rents for
>long-term residents; it raises the effective price of housing for
>people moving to New York.
>
>If you want to privilege long-term inhabitants by giving them rent
>breaks and raise the price of housing to people migrating into the
>city, at least be clear in your mind what you are doing...
I could swear I said in the passage you quoted:
>Needless to say, I'm fond of paying half the "market" rate, but it's
>a privilege not available to newcomers. I put "market" in quotes
>because the market rate is the marginal cost of a very scarce
>commodity; people stay put who might otherwise move, so it's hard to
>say what a real free market in New York apartments would look like.
A very large share of NYC rental apartments are regulated - I don't have a current Housing & Vacancy Report, so I can't tell you exactly how many - so this has to keep a lid on average rents.
Doug