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I am really curious where this whole situation with housing will end up. I am 30 years old, lived in more than a few cities/countries now and since I was a chi

I am really curious where this whole situation with housing will end up. I am 30 years old, lived in more than a few cities/countries now and since I was a child, the cost of rents/houses have always been increasing, literally everywhere. At what point it is too much? What happens then?

refurb 5y ago
It will take a massive dump, just like it always has. It amazing how short people's attention span is. It's not the last housing crash in the US or Asia was that long ago.
- solarmist 5y ago
  That’s short term look out over 50+ year periods and it moves in one direction.
  - refurb 5y ago
    Tell that to Detroit.
    - solarmist 5y ago
      I agree, and I will be curious what will happen to all the dying cities and towns. We may have it completely wrong about what makes land valuable, but it seemed that way due to a series of coincidences.
akomtu 5y ago
There won't be a breaking point. We'll just see more and more grey towers with shoebox apartments, like in Japan or many chinese cities. Those towers will be connected to wealthier areas by rail - a cheap way to move the service workers back and forth. SFH will stay, but will become a luxury, like a private jet. The rich need these SFHs as a buffer between their palaces and those grey towers.
- trgn 5y ago
  That's bleak. And in the American context unnecessarily dystopian. US has no need for soul crushing housing towers since our cities do not have to handle a tidal wave of new incomers from the countryside. US needs smart infill. So many metros are so dispersed, depopulated even. The vision that we need to paint is one of density and verdancy, at the same time. Of single family homes, but maybe with smaller yards, but impeccably maintained. Single family homes with a granny flat in the back, for granny when she's infirm, or for uncle joe who failed to launch. 4-5 story apartment buildings everywhere. More rail, for sure, but also more biking and walking. Space efficient housing for vagrants and students housing with with small rooms and common areas. Mansions for the C-level suite, but shotguns for their personal assistants. Back-to-back, in the same neighborhood. The vision of the american city of the future is not Beijing, it's the lush verdancy of Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans. But not only for tourists. For everybody. That is the future, even better (yes, better!), than what we have now.
hackerfromthefu 5y ago
If you look at the history of longer establish countries in Europe, the SFH truly has become a luxury. Many families live in multi-generational homes with three generations, when someone marries the new couple lives with one or the other of the parents.

refurb 5y ago

It will take a massive dump, just like it always has. It amazing how short people's attention span is. It's not the last housing crash in the US or Asia was that long ago.

solarmist 5y ago
That’s short term look out over 50+ year periods and it moves in one direction.
- refurb 5y ago
  Tell that to Detroit.
  - solarmist 5y ago
    I agree, and I will be curious what will happen to all the dying cities and towns. We may have it completely wrong about what makes land valuable, but it seemed that way due to a series of coincidences.

akomtu 5y ago

There won't be a breaking point. We'll just see more and more grey towers with shoebox apartments, like in Japan or many chinese cities. Those towers will be connected to wealthier areas by rail - a cheap way to move the service workers back and forth. SFH will stay, but will become a luxury, like a private jet. The rich need these SFHs as a buffer between their palaces and those grey towers.

trgn 5y ago
That's bleak. And in the American context unnecessarily dystopian. US has no need for soul crushing housing towers since our cities do not have to handle a tidal wave of new incomers from the countryside. US needs smart infill. So many metros are so dispersed, depopulated even. The vision that we need to paint is one of density and verdancy, at the same time. Of single family homes, but maybe with smaller yards, but impeccably maintained. Single family homes with a granny flat in the back, for granny when she's infirm, or for uncle joe who failed to launch. 4-5 story apartment buildings everywhere. More rail, for sure, but also more biking and walking. Space efficient housing for vagrants and students housing with with small rooms and common areas. Mansions for the C-level suite, but shotguns for their personal assistants. Back-to-back, in the same neighborhood. The vision of the american city of the future is not Beijing, it's the lush verdancy of Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans. But not only for tourists. For everybody. That is the future, even better (yes, better!), than what we have now.

hackerfromthefu 5y ago

If you look at the history of longer establish countries in Europe, the SFH truly has become a luxury. Many families live in multi-generational homes with three generations, when someone marries the new couple lives with one or the other of the parents.