Housing market regulates itself

Re “Even if people leave, we still need housing,” column, Sept. 17

What Steve Lopez is concerned about is market-based pricing for housing. It is thought to be self-regulating, and it is. The example cited of a modest Sunnyvale house selling for nearly $2.4 million is precisely this self regulation in process.

Most people understand they cannot have everything they want. Coastal living is great, but we who don’t have a few million dollars to spend on a home will settle for elsewhere.

One of the things California is not short of is open space. Residents of this state demonstrated their preference for detached homes long ago, and it hasn’t changed.

Yes, the land is further away in places that are hotter than the cost, but it’s better than in much of the U.S. The jobs are distant now, but the same market forces that determine housing costs will bring them inland eventually. Richard Rigney

Long Beach

Lopez puts some of the blame for high housing prices on Proposition 13, which is believed to keep people in their large houses as they age.

However, Propositions 60 and 90 provide a mechanism for people of age 55 and older to move to smaller houses and retain their Proposition 13 tax basis if they purchase a replacement home within any of the 11 participating counties, including Los Angeles. The replacement home must be of equal or lower value, thus it is more likely to be a smaller home.

This enables retirees to relinquish larger homes they may no longer need and move to smaller residences within their own county or to other participating counties, while retaining their Proposition 13 tax advantages.

If more counties would participate and more retirees were made aware of their options, a substantial number of homes could be made available to ease the housing shortage. Tony Joseph

Thousand Oaks