Profit driven system for the housing market perpetuates inequality even more

In this sense,  and t are two sides of the same coin. Instead of fighting each phase of the commodity cycle on its own terms, we should address the system of commodified housing that lies at its root.

It will never be as profitable to construct or lease housing stock intended for poor and working-class people as it will be for the high end of the market.

When housing prices fall, there is little incentive for landlords to deliver the proper upkeep and maintenance on rental stock, and many working-class homeowners find themselves underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth on the market. Moreover, local governments that rely on property taxes to fund social services are forced to slash them when they are needed most. Public schools, employment programs, and health care in these communities — all funded by those property taxes — suffer, resulting in even lower property values and further disinvestment.

When housing prices rise — like the bubble we are currently experiencing in the urban areas in countries like the United States — working-class people have their bank accounts squeezed, are displaced from their homes, and subjected to intensified policing. And in such an upswing, the profit motive acts as a powerful limiting factor in a capitalist society’s ability to meet our housing needs. It will never be as profitable to construct or lease housing stock intended for poor and working-class people as it will be for the high end of the market.