5 ms·
> mostly because of the lack of "family-centric" housing stock --whether detached units or multi-bedroom condos and apartment units So...what kind of housing s
by hx87 10y ago
> mostly because of the lack of "family-centric" housing stock --whether detached units or multi-bedroom condos and apartment units
So...what kind of housing stock accommodates people living with roommates? The exact same 2/3/4 bedroom apartments that young single people share are the ones that families need. If the issue is that 4 single people with jobs can outcompete a couple with 3 kids, then the problem is with the total quantity of housing stock, not the mix.
- pizzetta 10y agoIf you look at the new housing stock coming on-line there is a dearth of "family" housing stock --most units have DINKs in mind. they have bikes in mind, not strollers. Yoga space, not daycare, an open floor plan with no child's room, etc. New families don't have the income to pay what 3/4/five professionals can pool together to afford that 2/3/4 bedroom flat.
- mjevans 10y agoThe last time I went searching for apartments in the Seattle metro area there were /mostly/ 2 bedroom units. Even the nicer unit I'm currently in is a failure as far as sound-proofing goes. Some market regulation, like with fire codes, would really help with improving quality of life by raising privacy and encouraging larger unit-plan apartments.
- pilom 10y agoPlease no. Regulations should exist for safety and dealing with externalities. Regulating sound-proofing is neither of those and would expand government overreach without enough benefit.
- ericd 10y agoThe idea there would be that it's one of those things that's hard for consumers to evaluate in the time they have to evaluate it, because a walkthrough doesn't provide a representative sample. For example, you probably won't know how frequently ambulances take the road next to that apartment in the middle of the night. Dealing with information asymmetry is one of the big functions of consumer protections laws, and is one of the useful functions of government.
- hx87 10y agoCodes mandate minimum insulation levels and fireproofing between neighboring units already, and the same measures for both also tend to reduce sound transmission. Requiring insulation between neighboring units isn't much of a stretch.
- aninhumer 10y agoThe externality is on the customer who didn't factor the noise into their value calculation, because it's hard to judge before you live there for a while. So because they don't bear the cost of inadequate soundproofing, developers will tend towards the cheapest option.
- pilom 10y agoI'm still not convinced by this or either of the other replies. Safety issues I should be protected from by the government. "It's loud" is something I should walk away from after my lease is up without the government ever being involved. Some people appreciate cheaper options even if they are louder and there isn't a good reason to have the government prevent them from being allowed to take those options.
- aninhumer 10y agoI wouldn't object to some kind of noise rating system instead. The point is just that soundproofing is not something people can judge effectively during viewings, so it doesn't get priced effectively by the free market. Maybe a noisier property will have slightly higher turnover, but the rental price will probably not be noticeably affected.