5 ms·

As locals are priced out, Colorado mountain towns fight to keep workers

16 points by kungfudoi 5y ago

enduser 5y ago
This is referred to elsewhere as the beauty of capitalism and free markets /s
Tiktaalik 5y ago
Crazy idea here: Maybe try building some apartment buildings.
- bitlax 5y ago
  Sounds great if I want a bunch of crime and no kids. I'm only trying to be as flippant as the parent comment here.
- nopenopenopeno 5y ago
  Nobody wants to build housing there, especially now, because they can’t profit enough to justify the risk. Employee housing at ski resorts faces the same problem. Profit. It is very bold to argue for building more housing without accounting for the role of profit in priorities.
  - ChrisLTD 5y ago
    But why can’t they profit on building housing in an area with low supply and high housing prices? NIMBY laws?
  - Tiktaalik 5y ago
    That employers are shutting down without enough workers yet it's unprofitable to make housing for the workers suggests a deeply broken and dysfunctional market!
- landemva 5y ago
  Local zoning and building rules made that difficult for a few decades. Though buildings at ski base areas which look like fancy apartments were okay to build because real estate developers got paid and towns get paid big yearly property taxes. Timeshares are profitable.
nopenopenopeno 5y ago
> ”Even some business owners are buying properties that they then rent to employees.” Heaven forbid pay the employees a living wage when we can just dominate every single aspect of their lives instead.
- randomdata 5y ago
  If said Colorado mountain town is anything like around these parts, another tourist-driven area, you're not buying much for less than a million dollars. Rentals are rare and scooped up immediately when one does come onto the market. Not even a software engineer's salary is going to find you a place to live unless you are coming with a bunch of built-up capital already. Businesses having housing stock available for rent allows workers to move into town. Without that you'll just get a "I'd love to take this job but I can't find anywhere to live. Sorry."

16 points by kungfudoi 5y ago

enduser 5y ago

This is referred to elsewhere as the beauty of capitalism and free markets /s

Tiktaalik 5y ago

Crazy idea here: Maybe try building some apartment buildings.

bitlax 5y ago
Sounds great if I want a bunch of crime and no kids. I'm only trying to be as flippant as the parent comment here.
nopenopenopeno 5y ago
Nobody wants to build housing there, especially now, because they can’t profit enough to justify the risk. Employee housing at ski resorts faces the same problem. Profit. It is very bold to argue for building more housing without accounting for the role of profit in priorities.
- ChrisLTD 5y ago
  But why can’t they profit on building housing in an area with low supply and high housing prices? NIMBY laws?
- Tiktaalik 5y ago
  That employers are shutting down without enough workers yet it's unprofitable to make housing for the workers suggests a deeply broken and dysfunctional market!
landemva 5y ago
Local zoning and building rules made that difficult for a few decades. Though buildings at ski base areas which look like fancy apartments were okay to build because real estate developers got paid and towns get paid big yearly property taxes. Timeshares are profitable.

nopenopenopeno 5y ago

> ”Even some business owners are buying properties that they then rent to employees.” Heaven forbid pay the employees a living wage when we can just dominate every single aspect of their lives instead.

randomdata 5y ago
If said Colorado mountain town is anything like around these parts, another tourist-driven area, you're not buying much for less than a million dollars. Rentals are rare and scooped up immediately when one does come onto the market. Not even a software engineer's salary is going to find you a place to live unless you are coming with a bunch of built-up capital already. Businesses having housing stock available for rent allows workers to move into town. Without that you'll just get a "I'd love to take this job but I can't find anywhere to live. Sorry."