5 ms·

I don't even think it's necessarily a greed problem as much as a self interest problem, assuming its possible to make that distinction. When I see people who c

by Inconel 10y ago

I don't even think it's necessarily a greed problem as much as a self interest problem, assuming its possible to make that distinction. When I see people who constantly hold up urban high density housing development, in part to keep certain demographics from enjoying their neighborhoods, all the while enjoying the protection of limited property tax increases due to Prop 13 while still reaping the rewards of housing appreciation, I can make a case for myself that these people are being greedy and unethical. On the other hand, if someone works hard, saves for years to make a down payment on a mortgage, services the debt of that mortgage for 20-30 years, and relies on their house as their primary investment, I can't really blame them for voting for policies that increase housing prices. I think this highlights why the issue will be so hard to solve. It's going to be very difficult to get people who have been paying into a mortgage under the assumption that housing is a safe investment to suddenly support policies that will result in real estate depreciation.

JBlue42 10y ago
Also in terms of housing cost, the major players in building new apartment buildings are real estate developers. Their number people tell them exactly how to maximize profit per square footage and that goes into the design from the beginning. I was having a thought the other day that, were I a developer, and could afford to, what would I do with a five-story building? Ground floor commercial, top floor market rate (or above?) and then floors 1-4 a percentage below market rate with maybe a set increase for each year. I guess it would work as long as I factor in paying back to the bank and making a certain profit (but not the max). I don't know, I'm not a developer, I don't even know how one becomes one without already having money to do so, but in my AEC office design decisions are one thing but at the end of the day it is 1) building as cheaply as possible while 2) maximizing profit per square foot.

by Inconel 10y ago

JBlue42 10y ago

Also in terms of housing cost, the major players in building new apartment buildings are real estate developers. Their number people tell them exactly how to maximize profit per square footage and that goes into the design from the beginning. I was having a thought the other day that, were I a developer, and could afford to, what would I do with a five-story building? Ground floor commercial, top floor market rate (or above?) and then floors 1-4 a percentage below market rate with maybe a set increase for each year. I guess it would work as long as I factor in paying back to the bank and making a certain profit (but not the max). I don't know, I'm not a developer, I don't even know how one becomes one without already having money to do so, but in my AEC office design decisions are one thing but at the end of the day it is 1) building as cheaply as possible while 2) maximizing profit per square foot.