4 ms·

It is, in my experience, true. I live in an up and coming suburb of Detroit and every new apartment / condo building is incredibly skewed towards the high end.

by dyeje 8y ago

It is, in my experience, true. I live in an up and coming suburb of Detroit and every new apartment / condo building is incredibly skewed towards the high end. In fact, a huge development project is going on in the downtown area currently. One of the requirements of the project was to set aside a certain percentage of the new units as affordable housing. When the developer was asked about the affordable housing at a city council meeting, they revealed they were targeting a price point of ~$1600/mo for a 1 bedroom. For context, the going rate in the city for a bedroom is $300-800/mo. There was no language specifying what exactly affordable housing so they can get away with it (something the city is working on for next time). My point is, this is a real problem. You need to think about it and you need to actively prevent it in from happening in whatever legislation you put forward.

robertAngst 8y ago
> I live in an up and coming suburb of Detroit and every new apartment / condo building is incredibly skewed towards the high end. >new And what happens to the old units? They are sold and rented to the non-super wealthy. I also live in south east michigan and my neighborhood is undergoing gentrification, they are tearing down 1000 sq ft homes and replacing them with 3500 sq ft homes. What is the problem? I couldn't fit my large family(and renters) in a 1000 sq foot home.
- cf 8y ago
  Old units in many places are frequently renovated and re-sold to upper-middle class and wealthy tenants. The end result is an erosion of housing stock for average and low-income residents.
  - guardiangod 8y ago
    But the said "upper-middle class and wealthy tenants" already bought the "new apartment / condo building" that were built in the first place. It seems to me that opponents seem to think there is a phantom limitless pool of "upper-middle class" that buys up all the new high-end condo _and_ all the refurbished older units. Logically speaking, this is not possible
    - cf 8y ago
      There doesn't need to be a limitless supply. In many cities if buyers aren't found, property owners are content to leave them vacant. You can see this in the relatively higher rates of vacanies in condos compared to other kinds of housing.

by dyeje 8y ago

robertAngst 8y ago

> I live in an up and coming suburb of Detroit and every new apartment / condo building is incredibly skewed towards the high end. >new And what happens to the old units? They are sold and rented to the non-super wealthy. I also live in south east michigan and my neighborhood is undergoing gentrification, they are tearing down 1000 sq ft homes and replacing them with 3500 sq ft homes. What is the problem? I couldn't fit my large family(and renters) in a 1000 sq foot home.

cf 8y ago
Old units in many places are frequently renovated and re-sold to upper-middle class and wealthy tenants. The end result is an erosion of housing stock for average and low-income residents.
- guardiangod 8y ago
  But the said "upper-middle class and wealthy tenants" already bought the "new apartment / condo building" that were built in the first place. It seems to me that opponents seem to think there is a phantom limitless pool of "upper-middle class" that buys up all the new high-end condo _and_ all the refurbished older units. Logically speaking, this is not possible
  - cf 8y ago
    There doesn't need to be a limitless supply. In many cities if buyers aren't found, property owners are content to leave them vacant. You can see this in the relatively higher rates of vacanies in condos compared to other kinds of housing.