[Opinion] Sample: Housing Shortage

The shortage of housing in big cities have negative consequences. Some people believe that only goverment can solve this problem. Agree or disagree?

It is believed that the lack of accommodation in population hubs worldwide is creating a problem among city dwellers and the only the government have the ability to help avert this crisis. In my opinion, I partly agree with the above notion. 

When it comes to prevalent urban issues, the housing shortage is definitely a matter which sparks controversy. For starters, this is due to the fact that it extends the wealth gap between the working class and the affluent. It is no surprise that the lack of available homes drive up property prices, attracting buyouts from investors for profit, making home ownership a distant dream for a working person. But perhaps more worrying is that increased property price also make homelessness soar, as is often witnessed with economic downturns. In simple terms, usually when a person owns a place, eviction becomes a last resort, yet for the average renter, the capacity to stay depends on their ability to pay. 

Despite being a powerful influence, the authority alone does not have the answers. Wealthy people, as one of the largest driving force behind housing values, can choose to invest into stocks, bonds and gold. Diversifying their portfolios ensure their networth, at the same time making real estate values to be more reasonable for all others. With that said, the government does have an active role in making housing more accessible by limiting the number of properties any individual can own through taxation, and switching to lease only contracts for foreign investors. Both of these methods are being applied successfully in Vietnam, where the median house prices have plummeted in the last 5 years after houses became more available, providing a higher probability of property acquisition for every citizens. 

All in all, while it is true that there is a plethora of issues which could stem from a housing shortage, the government has to work not by themself, but hand in hand with its affluent citizens in order to combat these social problems.