Why I Don't Invest in Real Estate

Remote work, cities, and location choice

• Many remote workers still prefer dense, amenity-rich areas (gyms, markets, schools, airports, nightlife), so remote work doesn’t automatically push people to low-demand land.
• Some report suburban “main streets” and cafes booming on weekdays, while traditional CBDs lose foot traffic.
• Remote work cuts both ways: big-city workers can move to cheaper towns, but people from smaller places may now move to “more exciting” cities.
• Others do move to rural areas thanks to remote work, showing heterogeneous responses.

Landlording, morality, and ownership rates

• A strong thread argues that the landlord–tenant system is morally corrosive: every investment property is a home not available to owner-occupiers; this entrenches “haves vs have-nots” and undermines social cohesion.
• Advocates here suggest targets like 90–95% owner-occupied housing, citing Singapore as a model and calling for social stigma on landlords, bans on large corporate and foreign owners, and heavy criticism of speculative property.
• Critics call this “collectivist” and economically illiterate, arguing landlords provide necessary housing, that high prices are mainly due to regulatory constraints on supply, and that envy is driving the hostility.
• Others take a middle view: rental housing is necessary (students, migrants, short-term residents), but tax policy and incentives in places like Australia have skewed markets toward speculative ownership and worsened inequality.

Affordability, NIMBYism, and generational tension

• Many younger/median earners feel shut out: pandemic-era price spikes, higher rates, and investor demand made once-affordable markets (Phoenix, South Florida, Oxbridge) unreachable.
• “Home as piggy bank/retirement plan” is blamed for NIMBYism and resistance to upzoning, as owners prioritize asset appreciation over affordability.
• Others say NIMBYs mainly want to preserve neighborhood character and avoid construction/disruption, not just protect prices.

Macro trends: demographics, migration, and climate

• Some expect lower birth rates to ease housing pressure; others note that immigration and global demand to live in “good cities” (Australia, EU hubs, US metros) may sustain high prices.
• Several argue the US could physically build enough housing but “won’t” due to politics and regulation.
• A minority predicts large regional divergences as climate risk and insurability reshape which locations boom or crater.

Real estate as investment vs shelter

• Some see property as a hedge against currency debasement and a way to lock in housing costs, even if appreciation slows.
• Others emphasize concentrated risk, mortgage interest, maintenance, taxes, and transaction costs, arguing that renting plus diversified financial investments (including REITs) can be superior.
• Individual experiences vary: some small landlords are exiting due to regulation and poor yields, while flippers in some EU markets report strong profits.