Yes Jono corrections are needed – and they tend to weed out the get rich quick speculative investors and reward those who invest for the long term.

So you’re saying no person or entity (including the state) should be able to enter a contract with another willing party to provide said party with the means of obtaining shelter and warmth in exchange for an agreed method of payment? Where would this stop? Would you also ban rental cars, laundromats, hire shops, storage businesses, etc?

If you regulate minimum standards of accommodation, rentals may have to rise. This will penalise tenants willing to live in accommodation that falls short of an arbitrary minimum, but in which they would be happy to live in exchange for a reduced rent.

Well put Zack – however many people mistakenly view market corrections as a “failure of capitalism”.

This is not a “class” thing – we are all free to purchase residential properties and rent them to other people who don’t wish to buy or have other priorities for their money. I work in Australia and many of my co-workers (nurses) own multiple rental properties of modest value (thus not likely to be badly affected should there be a downturn in the property market). Not many landlords are fat cats without a day job.

Rent controls of the sort that were enforced in New York City disincentivise landlords making any improvements on their properties, resulting in slums and abandoned buildings.

Indeed, Sam. More than one economist and financial commentator has pointed out that real estate “investment” is dead money and doesn’t contribute to increasing overall real GDP and create jobs. It just makes a money-go-round, “flicking” houses to each other using cash from overseas lenders.

Re-directing investment into renewables would (a) cut our reliance on dangerous fossil fuels (b) reduce import costs for fuels, and (c) have a flow-on effect to create new green technologies. Win/win/win every which way.

As and aside, IF (and it’s a big if) we borrowed to transform new Zealand’s energy sector into all renewables solar and wind farms. Effectively creating a state run monopoly that all taxpayers own with all the associated benefits of every citizen being an instant shareholder. Effectively harvesting the free energy of the sun. We could dramatically lower energy prices so that productivity gets an Insta boost. That would give every one chips on the table, so when energy shares rise every ones chip stack rises lifting all waka’s.

It’s a bit of a stretch to get from here, to solving the housing crises but it’s yet to be proven that realestate investing increasises New Zealand’s home ownership rate.

Nobody is going to invest money borrowed or otherwise if there is no return/dividend.

John, no one forced speculators/investors to get into the housing rental business. As such those who own property need to follow rules set down by society (via Parliament).

It’s the same as any other industry; there is no such thing as an uncontrolled business environment. Manufacturers are not permitted to dump polluting chemicals into our waterways… or at least shouldn’t be.

And I bet you’d be the first to complain if a fat-rending or tyre-burning business set upshop right next to your home. People who demand a laissez faire economy are usually the first to jump up and down when unfettered capitalism bites them on their arses.

The good people of Kapiti – who consistently voted National – found that out when Air New Zealand cited commercial reasons for pulling flights out of that region. Kapiti voters voted for capitalism but didn’t like it when capitalism bit their National-ticking, ballot-marking hands.

John you are not living in the real world. If you like capitalism you need corrections other wise the system does not work. Capitalism works to an economic clock always has always will. If you don’t want a crash and subsequent recession – you can have socialism with out its cycles cause thats what you capitalists seem to want. Capitalism with out corrections does not exist and if you think it does you are living on another planet…