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Right on cue - YIMBY/SFBARFers respond to any HN headline with the words San Francisco and Housing with their strawman argument "NIMBY'S". Nevermind the fact t

Right on cue - YIMBY/SFBARFers respond to any HN headline with the words San Francisco and Housing with their strawman argument "NIMBY'S". Nevermind the fact that the question here is about homelessness which is exacerbated when you lobby to mow down affordable SROs and rent controlled housing so some developers can rebuild luxury condos in their place. How exactly will that help the homelessness problem?

briandear 8y ago
More housing (even luxury) increases supply thus lowers prices. That means that someone living in a studio might move to a 1 bed, leaving the studio vacant, thus increasing supply as people move up — a process that is only possible with a greater supply. And rent control actually leads to shortages as mobility is reduced because of people staying in places longer than they would have otherwise. It also disincentivizes creation of new housing. Greater supply is needed. That’s the bottom line.
- vicnov 8y ago
  THIS. Every time I hear "we need to protect poor from eviction by evil tech workers" I want to scream. Yeah sure.. tech workers who make 150k+ are dreaming about moving in a shitty house in East Bay. Boulding more affordable housing looks great in a political ad, but does not do shit to resolve the crisis
joshe 8y ago
You really can build enough housing to lower prices. Tokyo has. You can get a small Tokyo studio apartment for $700 per month. [1] This is because they build housing. San Francisco, London, New York, and Seattle all don't build housing and prices go up. [2] If housing were easier to build people would build more affordable housing. No developer cares if they build expensive housing or affordable housing, they are maximizing return on investment. Turning a 1 story house into a 3 story house for a 30% return makes developers just as happy as developing 20 luxury condos for a 30% return. And even those luxury condos provide housing for people who would otherwise buy old condos and renovate them. As long as the housing is more dense and there is more of it, prices will come down. [1] https://resources.realestate.co.jp/buy/average-rent-in-japan-by-prefecture/ https://resources.realestate.co.jp/buy/average-rent-in-japan... [2] https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3c60 https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3...
- rcpt 8y ago
  You can get a nice two bedroom within walking distance of Tencent's global HQ in Shenzhen for around $950 per month. https://m.fang.com/zf/sz/AGT_206834195.html?listtype=1&listsub=2 https://m.fang.com/zf/sz/AGT_206834195.html?listtype=1&lists...

briandear 8y ago

More housing (even luxury) increases supply thus lowers prices. That means that someone living in a studio might move to a 1 bed, leaving the studio vacant, thus increasing supply as people move up — a process that is only possible with a greater supply. And rent control actually leads to shortages as mobility is reduced because of people staying in places longer than they would have otherwise. It also disincentivizes creation of new housing. Greater supply is needed. That’s the bottom line.

vicnov 8y ago
THIS. Every time I hear "we need to protect poor from eviction by evil tech workers" I want to scream. Yeah sure.. tech workers who make 150k+ are dreaming about moving in a shitty house in East Bay. Boulding more affordable housing looks great in a political ad, but does not do shit to resolve the crisis

joshe 8y ago

You really can build enough housing to lower prices. Tokyo has. You can get a small Tokyo studio apartment for $700 per month. [1] This is because they build housing. San Francisco, London, New York, and Seattle all don't build housing and prices go up. [2] If housing were easier to build people would build more affordable housing. No developer cares if they build expensive housing or affordable housing, they are maximizing return on investment. Turning a 1 story house into a 3 story house for a 30% return makes developers just as happy as developing 20 luxury condos for a 30% return. And even those luxury condos provide housing for people who would otherwise buy old condos and renovate them. As long as the housing is more dense and there is more of it, prices will come down. [1] https://resources.realestate.co.jp/buy/average-rent-in-japan-by-prefecture/ https://resources.realestate.co.jp/buy/average-rent-in-japan... [2] https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3c60 https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3...

rcpt 8y ago
You can get a nice two bedroom within walking distance of Tencent's global HQ in Shenzhen for around $950 per month. https://m.fang.com/zf/sz/AGT_206834195.html?listtype=1&listsub=2 https://m.fang.com/zf/sz/AGT_206834195.html?listtype=1&lists...