Is there Really a Housing Crisis?

[alebrewer]

Interesting take on the housing crisis.

DEI is the real cause of America’s housing crisis

Census data shows 15 million excess housing units exist, contradicting claims of a housing shortage that activists use to justify eliminating local zoning laws.

www.foxnews.com

 

[WestMichiganCG]

Interesting take on the housing crisis.

DEI is the real cause of America’s housing crisis

Census data shows 15 million excess housing units exist, contradicting claims of a housing shortage that activists use to justify eliminating local zoning laws.

www.foxnews.com

It reads like a Fox News article. Throws Obama under the bus, praises Trump. Calls Democrats communists. Connects zoning laws to DEI and appears to be written by someone who knows nothing about city planning. Housing has become unaffordable in areas with jobs and the percentage of income younger workers are paying toward rent is unique to the younger generations. Even the Boomers have started having a nuanced opinion after their tax assessments are outpacing their ability to pay. I would recommend studying urban planning, it's a really interesting topic. A lot of the issues stem from people not wanting new development near them and out of date zoning regulations that don't allow for mixed uses or ADU's. If city's get too expensive to live in then it becomes difficult to get service workers in to help run the community. My favorite YouTube Channel is probably Type Ashton, she's a Midwesterner who moved to Germany to teach and does well researched apolitical videos.

 

[alebrewer]

It reads like a Fox News article. Throws Obama under the bus, praises Trump. Calls Democrats communists. Connects zoning laws to DEI and appears to be written by someone who knows nothing about city planning. Housing has become unaffordable in areas with jobs and the percentage of income younger workers are paying toward rent is unique to the younger generations. Even the Boomers have started having a nuanced opinion after their tax assessments are outpacing their ability to pay. I would recommend studying urban planning, it's a really interesting topic. A lot of the issues stem from people not wanting new development near them and out of date zoning regulations that don't allow for mixed uses or ADU's. If city's get too expensive to live in then it becomes difficult to get service workers in to help run the community. My favorite YouTube Channel is probably Type Ashton, she's a Midwesterner who moved to Germany to teach and does well researched apolitical videos.

Yeah - try to get past the conservative spin - it's a bit heavy. Some of the ideas are pretty provocative. Hadn't ever thought about a 'optimal' level of vacancies. Studied optimal unemployment in grad school - that was pretty interesting.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

I get city planning publications all the time. Lotta social engineering involved. I often interact with city planners. I also do a lot of interaction with residents. Based on those experiences...I don't think there's very much interaction between planners and residents. Planners tend to think they know what's best for a community while the residents mostly wonder what the frick the planners were thinking. A lot of taxpayer money gets spent for stuff people don't really like. To be fair...most people aren't paying attention until it's too late.

Disclosure: Did not watch the video.

 

[alebrewer]

My favorite YouTube Channel is probably Type Ashton, she's a Midwesterner who moved to Germany to teach and does well researched apolitical videos.

Love Germany - I'd live there. Germans aren't too friendly as a rule, though.

 

[WestMichiganCG]

Yeah - try to get past the conservative spin - it's a bit heavy. Some of the ideas are pretty provocative. Hadn't ever thought about a 'optimal' level of vacancies. Studied optimal unemployment in grad school - that was pretty interesting.

My issue is 'optimal' depends. The article reads macro but the problem is micro. Detroit's optimal level is going to be different than San Fransisco and there are areas that are less affected by the 'housing crisis' than others. I tend to watch less news because the problems are too often oversimplified, politicized or super depressing. My overview of the article was that the housing shortage in the U.S. is a myth, and is being used to advance a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda. The vacancy portion is more interesting, something I've spent a significant time researching for market studies. It's tied to growth and jobs. The guy that wrote it is a lawyer and was the former deputy assistant secretary of the HUD. My guess is that his oversimplification is partly influence by nonsense he saw going through the HUD department. Some of the DEI initiatives were ill advised but he reads like a hammer that only sees nails.

 

[WestMichiganCG]

Love Germany - I'd live there. Germans aren't too friendly as a rule, though.

I visited right after the wall fell. German's can be stoic but I had a blast.

 

[alebrewer]

I visited right after the wall fell. German's can be stoic but I had a blast.

Wife's fam all still lives over there - closer to Frankfurt, though. BIL is a German. They're not mean - they're just not friendly. 'Focused' is the nice way of stating it. Don't get me wrong, though - I absolutely love Germany.

 

[cashcatz]

It reads like a Fox News article. Throws Obama under the bus, praises Trump. Calls Democrats communists. Connects zoning laws to DEI and appears to be written by someone who knows nothing about city planning. Housing has become unaffordable in areas with jobs and the percentage of income younger workers are paying toward rent is unique to the younger generations. Even the Boomers have started having a nuanced opinion after their tax assessments are outpacing their ability to pay. I would recommend studying urban planning, it's a really interesting topic. A lot of the issues stem from people not wanting new development near them and out of date zoning regulations that don't allow for mixed uses or ADU's. If city's get too expensive to live in then it becomes difficult to get service workers in to help run the community. My favorite YouTube Channel is probably Type Ashton, she's a Midwesterner who moved to Germany to teach and does well researched apolitical videos.

Bingo:

Home - Missing Middle Housing

Missing Middle Housing is a transformative concept that highlights the need for diverse, affordable housing choices in sustainable, walkable neighborhoods.

missingmiddlehousing.com

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Housing has become unaffordable in areas with jobs

Not everywhere. And what as the ADU movement done? Well, increased traffic for one. But did it lower rent? Not really. Rent in NW Arkansas is affordable if you have a "good" job. But if you are a clerk on a 29 hour schedule (so you don't get company insurance as Obama mandated) well, no rent is "high" for a part time job. So you get 2 part-time jobs but still no insurance. And yet the urban spawl into farmland continiues. If we can get all 11 million or so illegals moved out, then there will be obvious amounts of surplus property. If we can tax the L out of hedge fund home buyers and LLCs controlling entire subdivisions then balance can be restored.

I appraised 2 estates of rental property last year that sold. The buyers jacked the rents up by about 30% overall. And they fired the property managers to replace with their own crew. So, the people living in 3 bed 2 bath duplexes were paying $700-800 are now paying $1,100 or more per month. The 2 bed 1 bath cheap apartments went from $500 a month to $750. The houses? The renters are paying $1,200-1,500 that were paying $900.