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My experience with most people saying "we are building more housing" is that they drastically overestimate how much housing is getting built, especially relativ
by TulliusCicero 4y ago
My experience with most people saying "we are building more housing" is that they drastically overestimate how much housing is getting built, especially relative to yesteryear. If you look at net increase in units YoY, it's usually quite modest even for booming, "in-demand" areas.
The other part is that the same things that make it slower to build more housing also make it more expensive, all the various bureaucratic processes.
- aperson_hello 4y agoIf housing units are increasing in double digit percentages per year, then we're talking! Otherwise, it's at best keeping up with population growth.
- bobthepanda 4y agoTime is money. The longer you spend time on a process, the longer you spend on people to just babysit, and the more inflation ticks up the cost of materials.
- stevenhuang 4y agoAlso the kind of housing being built matters greatly. If cities continue to zone for single family homes, the increase to supply will not be significant. Furthermore builders will need to be incentivized appropriately otherwise we'd get an abundance of luxury apartments (higher margins).