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This problem is an American problem - the only places that seem to not have affordability problems are the areas that are shrinking. Name any town in the US tha

This problem is an American problem - the only places that seem to not have affordability problems are the areas that are shrinking. Name any town in the US that experiences even slightly above average growth and you'll also find some sort of affordability issues. My $0.02 is because local residents have entirely too much control over building and zoning rules, and their interest are always such that they rationally oppose new developments. Given the fractured nature of building and zoning laws in the US, the only long term solution I see to this is state or federal level zoning requirements coupled with a slowdown of monetary stimulus and/or restrictions on non-resident purchases of properties for renting.

handrous 5y ago
Houses in my 3rd-tier (2.5th if we're generous) city in a painfully dull part of the country have appreciated ~30% in the last 2 years with no sign of slowing down. We're not in the news. No tech giants have announced new campuses here. We're not, so far as I know, any kind of notable destination for ex-Californians. There's house and apartment construction all over the place and it sure doesn't seem to be hard to get more approved, unlike some places that report that housing's not being built. This during a pandemic that should have cooled the economy somewhat. WTF.
- gr1zzlybe4r 5y ago
  Are you in a growing state or region of the country? Growth could mean either economic or population, but primarily thinking population here.
aidenn0 5y ago
This is also the a major reason why building non-housing infrastructure (bridges, rail, &c.) is so slow and expensive in the US compared to Europe. Any infrastructure that might possibly disturb someone who can afford a lawyer will be delayed and expensive. One project I was personally familiar with was delayed for over 10 years because a neighbor would challenge the plan. Each time found a different ordinance to nit-pick with. It was catch-22; if the nit-pick was fought, it caused delays, if the plans were modified, then it was now a new plan, and he could start all over with challenges to it. Another great example is that people living in a tiny town in Virginia were able to get a major bridge over the potomac completely redesigned from a suspension bridge to a draw-bridge (making it more expensive, a shorter lifespan, and less amenable to shipping) because the towers of the planned suspension bridge would be visible from their houses. Wikipedia calls this "considerable study and public debate[1]" 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge#Replacement_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge#Replacem...

handrous 5y ago

Houses in my 3rd-tier (2.5th if we're generous) city in a painfully dull part of the country have appreciated ~30% in the last 2 years with no sign of slowing down. We're not in the news. No tech giants have announced new campuses here. We're not, so far as I know, any kind of notable destination for ex-Californians. There's house and apartment construction all over the place and it sure doesn't seem to be hard to get more approved, unlike some places that report that housing's not being built. This during a pandemic that should have cooled the economy somewhat. WTF.

gr1zzlybe4r 5y ago
Are you in a growing state or region of the country? Growth could mean either economic or population, but primarily thinking population here.

aidenn0 5y ago

This is also the a major reason why building non-housing infrastructure (bridges, rail, &c.) is so slow and expensive in the US compared to Europe. Any infrastructure that might possibly disturb someone who can afford a lawyer will be delayed and expensive. One project I was personally familiar with was delayed for over 10 years because a neighbor would challenge the plan. Each time found a different ordinance to nit-pick with. It was catch-22; if the nit-pick was fought, it caused delays, if the plans were modified, then it was now a new plan, and he could start all over with challenges to it. Another great example is that people living in a tiny town in Virginia were able to get a major bridge over the potomac completely redesigned from a suspension bridge to a draw-bridge (making it more expensive, a shorter lifespan, and less amenable to shipping) because the towers of the planned suspension bridge would be visible from their houses. Wikipedia calls this "considerable study and public debate[1]" 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge#Replacement_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge#Replacem...