>Why doesn't the developer just include the debt when selling the houses? Likely because many prospective homeowners do not actually know about the debt paymen

>Why doesn't the developer just include the debt when selling the houses? Likely because many prospective homeowners do not actually know about the debt payments on the metro district when they buy the homes and so do not appropriately discount the asking price. Instead, the prospective homeowners effectively pay the developer extra for the perceived amenities that the new homeowners themselves will fund. The developer pays nearly nothing for the improvements and gets paid for all of the demand for nice amenities. Like many government activities, a private actor gets to use the government mandates as a vehicle to spread costs widely and captures a large chunk of the benefits for itself.