Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2014 · 9 posts · 1 vote
As we move closer to having self driving cars (predicted to happen by the year 2020) how will this affect the rental market? Will people be willing to live further away from big cities since driving will be less stressful? Also how will the large amount of jobless people who will eventually be replaced by self driving cars affect the economy?
Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 99 posts · 32 votes
10y
I think the same people who are willing to take trains (or drive a long commute) will be the same ones treating self driving cars as another mode of transportation. Others will still find ways to live closer to metropolitan areas.
Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
good questions about the jobless people... if that's the target market for your rentals (bus drivers, delivery people), i guess it would affect you.
regarding the first theory.... i dont think it's the driving that stresses people out. it's the number of hrs and amount of time they spend in the car that drives them crazy. i am willing to drive no more than 30 mins. after that point, i feel like i am missing on life (kids, looking at properties, balancing accounts/making offers, etc, etc). i can't believe people in the big cities drive hrs to go to work..
Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 944 votes
10y
Even self driving cars/vehicles will require a sober operator with an appropriate valid driver's license. Maybe someday far in the future we will see buses and 18 wheelers without drivers, but it won't be happening anytime soon, if ever.
Once self driving cars become mainstream and most people have them...which will probably be another decade past when they can first be purchased...I'll be curious to see if traffic accidents go down significantly. And will insurance rates then go down significantly.
I could see where people might start living further out from city centers if it is a little less stressful to drive. But, because of the time factor, it will still limit how far out they will go. I don't think it will be that big of a difference.
Guy with Great Hair · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
short term = 10-20 years, I don't see it making a big impact on rental markets
long term = 20-50 years, I think it'll DRASTICALLY change how people choose where to live.
Why live in DC when you can live 4 hours away and your car can drive you there while you sleep, have a bed in the back seat, and enjoy lower cost of living in a town further away. Might sound implausible at first but this is the predictions many people have made and I don't think it's that far fetched.
Combine this with ride sharing (the idea that people will eventually use all vehicles like taxis and not own their own car, which I also believe is likely), and people will no longer need garages either!
As for job losses, not sure why you think there would be job losses from automated cars. New technology is counterintuitive in that it would seem to replace jobs when in fact historically new technology has alwys created jobs.
Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 99 posts · 32 votes
10y
I think the same people who are willing to take trains (or drive a long commute) will be the same ones treating self driving cars as another mode of transportation. Others will still find ways to live closer to metropolitan areas.