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I'm also not so sure that it will go far in terms of easing housing costs. I just moved to the SF bay area from Boston and live outside of SF, but close to a Ca

by illvm 8y ago

I'm also not so sure that it will go far in terms of easing housing costs. I just moved to the SF bay area from Boston and live outside of SF, but close to a CalTrain stop. Everything is walkable for me, but the cost of living is comparable to SF (albeit the apartment is a bit larger). I have friends in the suburbs of Boston who have to commute into Boston for work, which is not something I have to do, as my community is a bit self enclosed. But their housing situation is not necessarily much better than mine was in Boston. Yeah, double the square footage for the same price but there wasn't more reasonably priced housing available that close to the commuter rail, and there wasn't exactly much to do in those areas outside of grocery shopping and commuting. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble a bit, but I'm failing to understand how more housing stock will improve any housing crisis. At best, it will keep the prices from inflating at the current rate further, but I don't see an increase in stock actually lowering prices. Developers are just going to build for the same price point as the market has now.

helen___keller 8y ago
You're not wrong, especially about "double the square footage for the same price". But that's why it's essential that the key to affordable housing isn't just connecting outlying suburbs by transit but also reevaluating zoning laws to fit more units in the same space. For a simple example, look at one of the most livable and expensive (per sqft) cities in the world, Tokyo. A median family can afford to buy a single family house in the Tokyo metropolitan region. This works because the entire Tokyo region, including transit-connected suburbs, have very little restrictions on the type of housing that can be built, and where it can be built. ( Great article: https://www.curbed.com/2017/2/3/14496248/tokyo-real-estate-affordable-homes https://www.curbed.com/2017/2/3/14496248/tokyo-real-estate-a... ) That model might not necessarily work perfectly for America, particularly because Tokyo is only increasing in population 1% per year and America's top cities are growing faster than that. But I guarantee thats a lot closer to a solution to the housing crisis than anything North America has produced.

by illvm 8y ago

helen___keller 8y ago

You're not wrong, especially about "double the square footage for the same price". But that's why it's essential that the key to affordable housing isn't just connecting outlying suburbs by transit but also reevaluating zoning laws to fit more units in the same space. For a simple example, look at one of the most livable and expensive (per sqft) cities in the world, Tokyo. A median family can afford to buy a single family house in the Tokyo metropolitan region. This works because the entire Tokyo region, including transit-connected suburbs, have very little restrictions on the type of housing that can be built, and where it can be built. ( Great article: https://www.curbed.com/2017/2/3/14496248/tokyo-real-estate-affordable-homes https://www.curbed.com/2017/2/3/14496248/tokyo-real-estate-a... ) That model might not necessarily work perfectly for America, particularly because Tokyo is only increasing in population 1% per year and America's top cities are growing faster than that. But I guarantee thats a lot closer to a solution to the housing crisis than anything North America has produced.