[krinchan]

Having RTFA: I think it's an interesting take to centralize zoning at the state level. Houston (which has no zoning ordinances) is a terrible place to live, but it's definitely an affordable place to live.

The incentives at a state level around housing might actually balance differently because at that level economic activity, jobs, etc. matter more than property taxes. Something that isn't often mentioned, because the focus is always on California or the US, is that property values are directly tied to the overwhelming majority of municipal budgets via property taxes incurred as a percentage of that value. Not only do constituents vote for more expensive residential property, local governments want expensive residential property even if their voters didn't.

This is exactly why California has been trying to move some of this power to the state level: local governments are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their tax revenue.

ETA: The property tax thing is more complex, but still applies. States like Florida and California cap how much tax assessments can increase for property you own that is your primary residence.

This still encourages these states to drive up property values because it tempts you into cashing out via selling. Every state with this sort of cap also immediately reassesses real estate to the price it sells at the following year. A high property value versus the tax assessment is just a deferred revenue stream, so it's a driver to encourage consistent turnover in the market. The only real way to do that is to constantly drive prices up, which drives the cost of living up, which turns over the residents faster.

So capping tax assessments like that, just makes the cycle even more viscous, in my experience living in Florida for a time.

[tocs3]

I like the idea of capping tax assessments. I am in central Texas and about 7 years ago the county dropped rates. Then the assessment went up and now I am paying something like 600% more (my bill). I am grateful, in some respects, that the property is worth more but I an not really in a position to gain financially from the price increase.

Adding: I would also like to see more of a tax for subdividing land. The way the taxes are structured, I feel like it is set up for those already living here are paying for the development and then paying the bills for road maintenance, police and fire, schools, etc. Empty land does not need these services.

[seanmcdirmid]

> This still encourages these states to drive up property values because it tempts you into cashing out via selling. Every state with this sort of cap also immediately reassesses real estate to the price it sells at the following year. A high property value versus the tax assessment is just a deferred revenue stream, so it's a driver to encourage consistent turnover in the market. The only real way to do that is to constantly drive prices up, which drives the cost of living up, which turns over the residents faster.

Many states (like WA) are on the budget system for property taxes: your assessed value effects your share of the taxes, but the overall property tax take is fixed. So if the property market booms or crashes, the amount collected is still the same. Playing around with freezing/capping assessments will only change how the tax burden is distributed (well, if it freezes for everyone then nothing really changes).

WA also pools property tax revenue for schools, which means richer western Washington districts subsidize poorer easter Washington districts. People still move around to be in the better school districts, however, since the advantages of those schools go beyond funding.

[eesmith]

Houston does not have zoning ordinances but it does have zoning-type regulations. https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/houston-doesnt-have-zoning...

> Virtually every affluent residential neighborhood in Houston has strict private deed restrictions — and, remarkably many of those deed restrictions can be enforced by the city. ...

> Some neighborhoods are in effect using historic districts as a zoning substitute. ...

> Several years ago, the city also created a process by which residents and neighborhoods could petition for a minimum lot size or minimum building line, or setback from the street. ...

Or from https://therealdeal.com/texas/2023/03/16/dont-say-the-z-word...

> This lack of zoning has resulted in Houston using other legal and governance mechanisms, such as ordinances, a building code and deed restrictions to impose rules that function as a form of de facto zoning.

[danaris]

I mean, this also suggests that part of the way out of this is to change that perverse incentive structure.

Fund municipalities more from the state level, through progressive income taxes (and/or potentially other funding sources). Property taxes don't have to go away, but if they're no longer the sole or primary source of funding for the municipality where they're being levied, that removes a very obvious source of problems.

Just as obviously, it will introduce other problems, but in my experience, when you come to recognize that a particular structure in finance/government/rules/etc is causing problems, it is easier to get in a mindset of identifying similar problems in the structures you set up to replace them. This does require a certain minimum degree of competency and a certain maximum degree of willingness to upset everyone else's applecart for one's own benefit among the powers that would be making the decisions, of course, which cannot always be a given.