{"id":33000,"date":"2023-02-21T01:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T01:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=33000"},"modified":"2023-02-26T21:35:56","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T21:35:56","slug":"the-ethics-of-home-ownership-in-an-age-of-growing-inequality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/the-ethics-of-home-ownership-in-an-age-of-growing-inequality\/","title":{"rendered":"The ethics of home ownership in an age of growing\u00a0inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

D\u00e9sir\u00e9e Lim<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many Americans today, homeownership is an unattainable dream<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose to 7%<\/a> for the first time in more than two decades. The median sales price of existing homes climbed to a record US$416,000<\/a> while demand for mortgages dropped to a 25-year low<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts forecast a turnaround in 2023, predicting a fall in home prices<\/a> and mortgage rates<\/a>. With the housing market likely to cool modestly, the prospect of a gradual return to affordability may sound like music to buyers\u2019 ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But should people be purchasing property at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My research examines<\/a> the negative impact of property ownership. Despite the current state of the housing market, property is still considered a sound investment<\/a> \u2013 at least for the limited group who can afford it. However, property ownership can have serious consequences on others\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying to make a profit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a difference between the two main categories of property buyers: those purchasing property as a primary home versus property for investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purchasing property as a primary home is considered more ethical than acquiring property for investment, as housing is considered a basic necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Property for investment, however, is owned for personal profit, often without the owner\u2019s intending to ever live there. Investors may purchase homes that can be \u201cfixed and flipped\u201d and sell them at a profit or lease them to renters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 2019, renters headed around 36% of the nation\u2019s 122.8 million households<\/a>. Census data shows that there are 48.2 million rental units<\/a> in the U.S., roughly 70% of which are owned by individual landlords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landlordphobia?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Landlords have often been criticized for being callous<\/a> and greedy<\/a>. COVID-19<\/a> exacerbated landlords\u2019 poor reputations because the pandemic increased renter payment difficulties<\/a> and triggered widespread evictions<\/a> and homelessness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered widespread eviction of tenants of rental properties. pcess609 via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some renters complained about uncaring landlords who were accused of pressuring and threatening vulnerable tenants<\/a>. The federal and state governments stepped in to help people with such interventions as the federal eviction moratorium<\/a> and New York City\u2019s rent freeze program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet landlords also provide rental opportunities for those who prefer not to buy and for those who wish to buy their own home but cannot afford it. Furthermore, landlords can be seen as offering a valuable service to those who are not seeking long-term occupancy<\/a>, such as university students who plan to leave upon graduation or temporary visitors to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ethics of renting out property, then, seems to turn partly on whether renters need it for long-term basic shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landlords are often blamed for the housing crisis. However, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the right to long-term shelter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individual landlords may contribute toward a poor housing system, but they act within the confines of the system. Only governments have the power to change the system, through investment in affordable housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ethics of owning a home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Homebuyers also have ethical obligations to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing to own property in a gentrifying neighborhood, or one considered at risk of gentrifying<\/a>, may contribute to the forced displacement of existing long-term residents<\/a>. The harms of having to leave one\u2019s former neighborhood include the severing of community networks or enduring the strain of extraordinarily long work commutes<\/a>. Additionally, persons of color are disproportionately affected by gentrification<\/a>, which may create new patterns of racial segregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given these consequences, aspiring homeowners should perhaps avoid purchasing homes in neighborhoods with vulnerable residents. But, with housing unaffordability writ large, first-time buyers may be able to afford properties only in neighborhoods at risk of gentrification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitigating risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How can governments mitigate risks like racial segregation while also providing affordable housing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example is Singapore\u2019s system of affordable public housing<\/a>. To prevent segregation, Singapore introduced racial quotas in public housing that require minimum levels of occupancy of each of its main ethnic groups \u2013 Chinese, Malay, Indian, and others, which includes all other ethnicities. Though intrusive and imperfect in its execution<\/a>, the Singaporean approach shows that a more proactive approach to housing is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landlords may have moral duties, but the government\u2019s role in recognizing and protecting the right to stable long-term housing must not be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u00e9sir\u00e9e Lim<\/a>, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Penn State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

D\u00e9sir\u00e9e Lim, Penn State For many Americans today, homeownership is an unattainable dream. In 2022, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose to 7% for the first time in more than two decades. The median sales price of existing homes climbed to a record US$416,000 while demand for mortgages dropped to a 25-year low. Experts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":33001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,38],"tags":[5181,196,6069,65,8574,10178,13579,4828,13578,10980,3112],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33000"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33052,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33000\/revisions\/33052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}