Getting housed in Palm Springs

Re “Home sales in desert dry up,” Jan. 23

I am a Palm Springs real-estate broker as well as a marketer of short-term rentals in this city, which recently capped the number of such properties on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.

Reporter Jack Flemming’s article on how this cap has driven down home sales in Palm Springs reveals only momentarily the view of a full-time resident of this city.

From my home within walking distance of the airport, I can see and sometimes hear the evidence of four short-term rental homes. My home is at the edge of two of the city’s 31 established neighborhoods — one trendy and one notso, one expensive to buy in and one now just beginning to increase in cost.

The rapid increase in short-term rentals from 2015 to now created a bubble market that spurred corporate acquisition of properties. These companies capitalized on the limited amount of existing housing, making new home building imperative.

As a long-term, full-time resident of Palm Springs, I’ve welcomed the perception of increasing home value, but I also welcome the caps on permitted rentals to control the rampant speculation by corporate buyers. Thomas Kohn Palm Springs

I read with interest your article about property values dropping in Palm Springs as a result of a cap on short-term rentals. I was surprised at the tone of the article.

Was I suppose to feel bad for the rich investors? Because who else could afford buying rentals?

A law to address the issue of affordable housing deserves praise. Bravo to Palm Springs.

Wayne Pearl Westlake Village