warmer atmosphere == higher capacity to hold water vapor.

CO2 plus H2O (water vapor is also a highly potent greenhouse gas).

We sold my daughter's condo 2 years ago, and we're still getting email solititations to buy it. Apparently there's a company sitting behind about a half-dozen shell companies, and they're trying to buy up enough units that they can sit on the association board, and convert the whole complex to rentals; forcing the remaining owners to sell.

I'm glad I got her out of there 2 years ago. The rising crime problem there was the motivating factor.

It does cost a lot, but in most cases you're going to get more bang for your buck. (and you can also forgo features you don't like or need: like a homeowner's association; or pre-existing utility connections you don't want).

The other thing about building a home - particularly if you're in a high-demand area, the appreciation in the first 2 years is pretty insane.

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you are not. Some older homes are really well built. Some are not. Some modern homes are well built. Some are not.

You can certainly buy an existing home without HOA.

Here is exactly why:

In America, this is basically the ONLY way "normal people" can make money (or at least used to be - those of us who didn't "get on the bus" in time have missed out).

Unless you create valuable intellectual property (ie. inventor, etc), or unless you're a doctor or lawyer, you're mostly just barely getting by. Those of us who were able to invest in housing, and take that ride, might actually have enough economic security to retire on.

So why does it have to be that way?

Because the politician who tries to change this system, will get voted out of office.

I don't want to say bad things about democracy. I love democracy, and I think it's one of the most important human innovations of the past 2000 years.

But the way we practice it in the USA; we're basically voting for our own extinction.

Yeah, I understand the politics of it, and you're right that it's incredibly politically challenging thing to change.

But it's not a fundamental property of how markets for housing have to work. Housing doesn't need to be an appreciating asset for building housing to be a viable business to be in.

tell that to the bitcoin bros.

amateur

yeah - there's not going to be a shortage of aluminum any time soon.

So how about that pressure-treated lumber that they make the playground equipment with? Filled with Arsenic.

CCAs haven’t been used for decades. Modern treatments are mostly copper or borate compounds.

https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/over...

Ultimately, marketers market themselves. They may be good at it or bad at it, but at the end of the day, if they're dishonest about it, they can be successful also.