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Do we actually have a "housing" shortage, though? I know that supply of stereotypical single-family, detatched homes is massively outstripped by demand in many

Do we actually have a "housing" shortage, though? I know that supply of stereotypical single-family, detatched homes is massively outstripped by demand in many parts of the US and that's a problem. But is there actually a shortage of "housing" - places to live - including apartments, condos, duplexes, mobile homes, etc? This is not a rhetorical question, by the way. I'm genuinely curious as I've never been to LA or spent significant time in parts of the US where this problem is at its worse. I live in the midwest and there are plenty of places I could buy or rent here if I needed - cheap and expensive - but I'm lucky enough to have a decent place now so I can be picky about the next one.

dodobirdlord 5y ago
Yes, there is a housing shortage in many major US cities. This is evident both from the high rent in these cities, and the large share of workers who commute long distances to work in these cities. It can be hard to immediately see that there is a shortage of something like housing, because it’s rare that people will actually end up without housing because there isn’t enough to go around. But this is because people will rationally choose to live further and further from their jobs and commute longer and longer distances as the shortage drives prices up near their workplace, rather than choosing to go without housing.
kuang_eleven 5y ago
Absolutely. I live in West LA, one of the places in the US worst hit by the housing shortage and it is hard to even find an apartment and vacancies are filled quick. Luckily, I haven't had to move in a while, but it was bad enough that when I got my place, I signed for it purely based on the opinion of a friend who could go see it for me. If I had waited the extra week to come home from the trip I was on, it almost certainly would not have been vacant.
imtringued 5y ago
Technically there is a shortage of nice places to live.

dodobirdlord 5y ago

Yes, there is a housing shortage in many major US cities. This is evident both from the high rent in these cities, and the large share of workers who commute long distances to work in these cities. It can be hard to immediately see that there is a shortage of something like housing, because it’s rare that people will actually end up without housing because there isn’t enough to go around. But this is because people will rationally choose to live further and further from their jobs and commute longer and longer distances as the shortage drives prices up near their workplace, rather than choosing to go without housing.

kuang_eleven 5y ago

Absolutely. I live in West LA, one of the places in the US worst hit by the housing shortage and it is hard to even find an apartment and vacancies are filled quick. Luckily, I haven't had to move in a while, but it was bad enough that when I got my place, I signed for it purely based on the opinion of a friend who could go see it for me. If I had waited the extra week to come home from the trip I was on, it almost certainly would not have been vacant.

imtringued 5y ago

Technically there is a shortage of nice places to live.