You seem to not comprehend that people moving into places are also leaving an empty place behind. It's not that hard to figure out. People don't need a home to themselves as well, which significantly decreases the number of residencies that you would need to get the homeless off the streets. You also state: "nobody would want to move to a decrepit, decaying house in a second-tier city, plagued by crime and poverty.", but I would argue any house in those places would be preferential to living on the street in those places. Not to mention that repairing a house is generally cheaper than building completely new ones. Doing nothing and acting like there is nothing you can do is not a solution.
Empty houses are empty houses. It doesn't matter if a piece of paper in a bank vault somewhere says that someone has the right to keep that house empty. At any given time, there *are* 31 vacant houses for every single homeless person that you see on the street. Every rationalization in your article doesn't change that fact.
>The second group, some 5 million and three quarters, are seasonally empty houses - vacation homes, second homes, or other such properties.
That's the point. Fix homelessness, then we can start worrying about giving rich people second and third houses that are empty most of the year.
You seem to not comprehend that people moving into places are also leaving an empty place behind. It's not that hard to figure out. People don't need a home to themselves as well, which significantly decreases the number of residencies that you would need to get the homeless off the streets. You also state: "nobody would want to move to a decrepit, decaying house in a second-tier city, plagued by crime and poverty.", but I would argue any house in those places would be preferential to living on the street in those places. Not to mention that repairing a house is generally cheaper than building completely new ones. Doing nothing and acting like there is nothing you can do is not a solution.
Empty houses are empty houses. It doesn't matter if a piece of paper in a bank vault somewhere says that someone has the right to keep that house empty. At any given time, there *are* 31 vacant houses for every single homeless person that you see on the street. Every rationalization in your article doesn't change that fact.
Amazing article!