Comment 39058

By More roads (anonymous) | Posted March 23, 2010 at 19:03:30

Undustrial >> Those who understand the game can purchase properties at the cost of a small house (like many of the buildings on James North a few years ago) then sell them for many times that amount.

Then why doesn't the city do just that? If the city became the greedy land speculator, at least the profits would be dispersed amongst the general public, rather than a few individuals.

If the city declared to the world that it feels that the core is undervalued and it is going to start buying it back until it reached a fair price, what would be the result? Sellers would start expecting a higher price for their own property, be it a home, condo, office or apartment building. If they believed the city would buy their own property for x, why would they sell for less.

Over time, the city might not have to buy and take many properties off the market as first thought, because the speculation that they would act as buyer of last resort would have the same effect as actually doing it. As investors became confident of a price floor on their own investment, the risk associated with investing in Hamilton would decrease considerably.

By not buying up vacant property, the city is telling the market that it believes that Hamilton is a poor place to invest. The phrase, "Put your money where your mouth is" is appropriate in this situation. Until the politicians start to believe in the city they claim to, why should anyone else?

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