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Can you think of a place that became more affordable after the fact and created more value, because I struggle to think of one. Virtually every city in America

Can you think of a place that became more affordable after the fact and created more value, because I struggle to think of one. Virtually every city in America that is considered affordable has either experienced large amounts of population loss, or is in a region that is still on it's rise in popularity and happened to have tons of open land that it continues to subdivide. All over the world, central urban real estate is very expensive, often because it has access to transportation infrastructure such as highways and trains that allow it to attract workers over a larger population boundary.

closeparen 8y ago
Every that grows chooses lower prices and greater opportunity vs. the counterfactual world where it’s subject to the same pressures but stifles growth. The Bay Area’s situation is historically mundane; only its response is unique. New York had a significant population by the mid 19th century. Imagine if its residents had decided to preserve the character of their neighborhoods.
nerfhammer 8y ago
You won't find examples of prices going down over long periods of time, but there are plenty of examples of prices remaining relatively affordable and stable. For example, New York City up until the mid 1970's: https://ny.curbed.com/2015/6/2/9954250/tracking-new-york-rents-and-asking-prices-over-a-century https://ny.curbed.com/2015/6/2/9954250/tracking-new-york-ren...
- zjaffee 8y ago
  Manhattan experienced population decline from the 1920s through the 1970s, where while not all of that was people leaving the city, it always involved the annexation of new cheap land.
ummonk 8y ago
One that became unaffordable due to contracted supply and then became more affordable due to expanded housing supply? Can't think offhand of any examples that have pulled off this turnaround, which, sadly, bodes poorly for the future of the SF Bay Area. Your point about central urban real estate is true, but that doesn't mean the entire urban metropolitan area has to be unaffordable. E.g., my friends in NYC tell me it is reasonably affordable in that although Manhattan itself is expensive, the surrounding boroughs and suburbs have plenty of affordable housing within reasonable commuting distance. Of course, a lot of this is just generational - after WW2, there was a lot of investment in building in general, be it building up all the cities or the interstate highway system. This seemed to turn around in the 70s (at around the same time median wages became flat with inflation, and general inequality started rising).

closeparen 8y ago

Every that grows chooses lower prices and greater opportunity vs. the counterfactual world where it’s subject to the same pressures but stifles growth. The Bay Area’s situation is historically mundane; only its response is unique. New York had a significant population by the mid 19th century. Imagine if its residents had decided to preserve the character of their neighborhoods.

nerfhammer 8y ago

You won't find examples of prices going down over long periods of time, but there are plenty of examples of prices remaining relatively affordable and stable. For example, New York City up until the mid 1970's: https://ny.curbed.com/2015/6/2/9954250/tracking-new-york-rents-and-asking-prices-over-a-century https://ny.curbed.com/2015/6/2/9954250/tracking-new-york-ren...

zjaffee 8y ago
Manhattan experienced population decline from the 1920s through the 1970s, where while not all of that was people leaving the city, it always involved the annexation of new cheap land.

ummonk 8y ago

One that became unaffordable due to contracted supply and then became more affordable due to expanded housing supply? Can't think offhand of any examples that have pulled off this turnaround, which, sadly, bodes poorly for the future of the SF Bay Area. Your point about central urban real estate is true, but that doesn't mean the entire urban metropolitan area has to be unaffordable. E.g., my friends in NYC tell me it is reasonably affordable in that although Manhattan itself is expensive, the surrounding boroughs and suburbs have plenty of affordable housing within reasonable commuting distance. Of course, a lot of this is just generational - after WW2, there was a lot of investment in building in general, be it building up all the cities or the interstate highway system. This seemed to turn around in the 70s (at around the same time median wages became flat with inflation, and general inequality started rising).