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If the US decided to spend trillions of dollars a year building skyscrapers in Alaska it could be 'growing' at 7% a year too. http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/

If the US decided to spend trillions of dollars a year building skyscrapers in Alaska it could be 'growing' at 7% a year too. http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/china-ghost-cities-satellite-images-2017-3 http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/china-ghost-cities-satellit...

woah 8y ago
If the US decide to spend trillions building skyscrapers its cities, then housing might be affordable
- ythn 8y ago
  Housing in Alaska already is affordable...
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Not really. Alaska is damn expensive if you are used to lower 48 prices. That sky scraper in question was built for a small seaside village limited by land because they were stuck between a mountain and water. It was really a one off and I don’t think it contributed much to USA debt.
- echochamberhn 8y ago
  Except that the ghost cities in China are of incredibly poor quality and falling apart a mere months after construction. Other than that, good point!
  - godzillabrennus 8y ago
    The USA has a bit more experience building high quality skyscrapers than China.
    - lancewiggs 8y ago
      How many has each country built in the last 10 years? China's industry has far far more experience building in the modern era.
      - godzillabrennus 8y ago
        Quantity =/= Quality
  - tim333 8y ago
    The poster child was Ordos: >Ordos: The biggest ghost town in China (bbc 2012) > In Inner Mongolia a new city stands largely empty. This city, Ordos, suggests that the great Chinese building boom, which did so much to fuel the country's astonishing economic growth, is over. Is a bubble about to burst? While now: >However, in 2017, the ghost city label is getting more than a little difficult to hang on Ordos Kangbashi. According to a recent report, there are now 153,000 people living there, 4,750 businesses are now in operation, and housing prices have risen roughly 50% on average from the end of 2015, when the local real estate market bottomed out. Of the 40,000 apartments that had been built in the new district since 2004, only 500 are still on the market. The ghost city thing is exaggerated.
    - TallDave2 8y ago
      Ordos is actually still pretty ghosty. 153K people seems great until you realize it was built for several times that many. http://www.businessinsider.com/ordos-china-ghost-town-2017-5 http://www.businessinsider.com/ordos-china-ghost-town-2017-5 In the US, everyone associated with the investment would have lost their shirts years ago. In Communist China, debt pays you! The really interesting thing is that the units are mostly owned. Why? Because you can't move very much money out of China due to the capital controls, tremendous flows of money go into property -- lots of people buy real estate never intending to live in it, or sometimes even to rent it... there are actually property sales ads that suggest no one should live there as the property is not designed for human habitation. :)
- conanbatt 8y ago
  Where do you think the trillions come from!
oblio 8y ago
China is urbanizing at a rate of about 1 full US per 20 years.

woah 8y ago

If the US decide to spend trillions building skyscrapers its cities, then housing might be affordable

ythn 8y ago
Housing in Alaska already is affordable...
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Not really. Alaska is damn expensive if you are used to lower 48 prices. That sky scraper in question was built for a small seaside village limited by land because they were stuck between a mountain and water. It was really a one off and I don’t think it contributed much to USA debt.
echochamberhn 8y ago
Except that the ghost cities in China are of incredibly poor quality and falling apart a mere months after construction. Other than that, good point!
- godzillabrennus 8y ago
  The USA has a bit more experience building high quality skyscrapers than China.
  - lancewiggs 8y ago
    How many has each country built in the last 10 years? China's industry has far far more experience building in the modern era.
    - godzillabrennus 8y ago
      Quantity =/= Quality
- tim333 8y ago
  The poster child was Ordos: >Ordos: The biggest ghost town in China (bbc 2012) > In Inner Mongolia a new city stands largely empty. This city, Ordos, suggests that the great Chinese building boom, which did so much to fuel the country's astonishing economic growth, is over. Is a bubble about to burst? While now: >However, in 2017, the ghost city label is getting more than a little difficult to hang on Ordos Kangbashi. According to a recent report, there are now 153,000 people living there, 4,750 businesses are now in operation, and housing prices have risen roughly 50% on average from the end of 2015, when the local real estate market bottomed out. Of the 40,000 apartments that had been built in the new district since 2004, only 500 are still on the market. The ghost city thing is exaggerated.
  - TallDave2 8y ago
    Ordos is actually still pretty ghosty. 153K people seems great until you realize it was built for several times that many. http://www.businessinsider.com/ordos-china-ghost-town-2017-5 http://www.businessinsider.com/ordos-china-ghost-town-2017-5 In the US, everyone associated with the investment would have lost their shirts years ago. In Communist China, debt pays you! The really interesting thing is that the units are mostly owned. Why? Because you can't move very much money out of China due to the capital controls, tremendous flows of money go into property -- lots of people buy real estate never intending to live in it, or sometimes even to rent it... there are actually property sales ads that suggest no one should live there as the property is not designed for human habitation. :)
conanbatt 8y ago
Where do you think the trillions come from!

oblio 8y ago

China is urbanizing at a rate of about 1 full US per 20 years.