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American cities don't ban housing construction (the one exception being San Francisco/Bay Area). Every other major US metro (literally everyone except SF) has b

American cities don't ban housing construction (the one exception being San Francisco/Bay Area). Every other major US metro (literally everyone except SF) has been experiencing a massive housing construction boom for the past ten years straight now.

countvonbalzac 4y ago
That's not true, every major city in the US is experiencing a major housing shortage. Not building enough units to keep up with demand can hardly be called a massive boom.
jolux 4y ago
This isn't true. Most major metros are experiencing a serious housing crisis right now. We see similar problems to SF here in Somerville and Cambridge, albeit to a lesser degree. There's certainly not enough being built to keep pace with demand. The suburbs around us are even worse.
- maxsilver 4y ago
  > We see similar problems to SF here in Somerville and Cambridge, "Boston saw a historic building boom during the seven years (2014-2021) that former mayor Marty Walsh, a former construction union leader, occupied City Hall. The city’s skyline transformed, and continues to do so. Tens of thousands of new units of housing were created. An entire neighborhood rose from the ground." - https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2021/07/19/boston-mayors-race-developers/ https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2021/07/19/boston-mayor... > Most major metros are experiencing a serious housing crisis right now. Completely agree. But your reasons are off. Most high prices have literally nothing to do with supply or demand in any traditional (person-based) sense. Boston certainly fits that model -- it's price problems have nothing to do with any shortage in construction (construction is booming) or 'housing ban' (obviously there's no meaningful ban, because construction has already happened in large numbers for over a decade)
  - jolux 4y ago
    > Boston certainly fits that model -- it's price problems have nothing to do with any shortage in construction (construction is booming) or 'housing ban' (obviously there's no meaningful ban, because construction has already happened in large numbers for over a decade) This is poor reasoning. The fact that some housing got built does not mean that there weren't significant impediments to building it, many of which still remain. Or that even during the boom that enough housing was built to sustain increased demand. There has been a historic housing boom alongside an enormous population surge over the past ten years (nearly 10% in the city proper alone). The boom is still not keeping pace with demand, and restrictions on multi-family housing remain. Here's a good article that gives an overview of the policy issues locally: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/on-housing-wu-should-look-to-somerville/ https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/on-housing-wu-shoul... In particular: > In Boston, on account of its antiquated zoning laws, it’s easier to build a leather tannery than it is to site an apartment building. The zoning code is written in such a way that it is nearly impossible to build multi-family housing, without going through the time consuming and costly process to obtain a zoning variance. Even then, projects are at the mercy of abutters and neighborhood associations that are often diametrically opposed to any form of development in their backyards, particularly projects with a higher unit count. Also, > Most high prices have literally nothing to do with supply or demand in any traditional (person-based) sense. Citation needed. Population is growing faster than housing supply. High prices are exactly what you would expect in this situation. Building more housing is the only long-term solution.
    - eru 4y ago
      > Building more housing is the only long-term solution. Well, that are migration away from supply constrained cities. Problem is that America's most productive cities are the most supply constrained. People contribute less to GDP, earn less for themselves, pay fewer income taxes etc, in those other areas where they can still afford to live.
  - colinmhayes 4y ago
    Of course a housing shortage has to do with supply and demand. Yes, we're building, but not nearly fast enough.
marcusverus 4y ago
The 2010's were the least productive decade for housing since the 60's. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST
- eru 4y ago
  And the 1960s is in there, just because FRED doesn't have earlier data. Also keep in mind that the linked FRED graph doesn't adjust for population size nor number of households in the country.
eru 4y ago
Construction boom compared to what? Previous decades saw much, much more housing being built.

countvonbalzac 4y ago

That's not true, every major city in the US is experiencing a major housing shortage. Not building enough units to keep up with demand can hardly be called a massive boom.

jolux 4y ago

This isn't true. Most major metros are experiencing a serious housing crisis right now. We see similar problems to SF here in Somerville and Cambridge, albeit to a lesser degree. There's certainly not enough being built to keep pace with demand. The suburbs around us are even worse.

maxsilver 4y ago
> We see similar problems to SF here in Somerville and Cambridge, "Boston saw a historic building boom during the seven years (2014-2021) that former mayor Marty Walsh, a former construction union leader, occupied City Hall. The city’s skyline transformed, and continues to do so. Tens of thousands of new units of housing were created. An entire neighborhood rose from the ground." - https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2021/07/19/boston-mayors-race-developers/ https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2021/07/19/boston-mayor... > Most major metros are experiencing a serious housing crisis right now. Completely agree. But your reasons are off. Most high prices have literally nothing to do with supply or demand in any traditional (person-based) sense. Boston certainly fits that model -- it's price problems have nothing to do with any shortage in construction (construction is booming) or 'housing ban' (obviously there's no meaningful ban, because construction has already happened in large numbers for over a decade)
- jolux 4y ago
  > Boston certainly fits that model -- it's price problems have nothing to do with any shortage in construction (construction is booming) or 'housing ban' (obviously there's no meaningful ban, because construction has already happened in large numbers for over a decade) This is poor reasoning. The fact that some housing got built does not mean that there weren't significant impediments to building it, many of which still remain. Or that even during the boom that enough housing was built to sustain increased demand. There has been a historic housing boom alongside an enormous population surge over the past ten years (nearly 10% in the city proper alone). The boom is still not keeping pace with demand, and restrictions on multi-family housing remain. Here's a good article that gives an overview of the policy issues locally: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/on-housing-wu-should-look-to-somerville/ https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/on-housing-wu-shoul... In particular: > In Boston, on account of its antiquated zoning laws, it’s easier to build a leather tannery than it is to site an apartment building. The zoning code is written in such a way that it is nearly impossible to build multi-family housing, without going through the time consuming and costly process to obtain a zoning variance. Even then, projects are at the mercy of abutters and neighborhood associations that are often diametrically opposed to any form of development in their backyards, particularly projects with a higher unit count. Also, > Most high prices have literally nothing to do with supply or demand in any traditional (person-based) sense. Citation needed. Population is growing faster than housing supply. High prices are exactly what you would expect in this situation. Building more housing is the only long-term solution.
  - eru 4y ago
    > Building more housing is the only long-term solution. Well, that are migration away from supply constrained cities. Problem is that America's most productive cities are the most supply constrained. People contribute less to GDP, earn less for themselves, pay fewer income taxes etc, in those other areas where they can still afford to live.
- colinmhayes 4y ago
  Of course a housing shortage has to do with supply and demand. Yes, we're building, but not nearly fast enough.

marcusverus 4y ago

The 2010's were the least productive decade for housing since the 60's. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST

eru 4y ago
And the 1960s is in there, just because FRED doesn't have earlier data. Also keep in mind that the linked FRED graph doesn't adjust for population size nor number of households in the country.

eru 4y ago

Construction boom compared to what? Previous decades saw much, much more housing being built.