3 ms·

It's primarily the missing middle. Skyscrapers and high rises only work for luxury apartments or shitty soviet style blocks. Single family homes only work in

It's primarily the missing middle. Skyscrapers and high rises only work for luxury apartments or shitty soviet style blocks. Single family homes only work in rural areas. The vast majority of cities and housing demand is in-between, which is entirely missing in the US. You'd expect 90% of housing to be row houses or 3-4 floor apartment buildings, but in the US, that's just not existing. Sure, the housing market in Europe is struggling as well, but it's not even close to the situation in the US because so much affordable housing in mixed-use middle density buildings is available. And with small shops on the bottom floor, offices on the second floor and 2-3 floors of housing above, this greatly reduces traffic (and in turn, infrastructure cost) as well. I believe the US is finally wising up to this with "5 over 2" style housing, but I don't know enough about that to actually judge how well it works.

mcntsh 3y ago
> Sure, the housing market in Europe is struggling as well, but it's not even close to the situation in the US because so much affordable housing in mixed-use middle density buildings is available. Housing affordability in Europe is, in most places, way worse than in the US. Not sure where Americans get this idea that it's better there.
- kuschku 3y ago
  I'm not an american, I actually live in Germany. And as long as you rent instead of buying hohsing affordability is okay in most cities, and in those where it isn't the transit network is good enough that you can easily commute without an expensive car.
  - mcntsh 3y ago
    Yeah I also live in Germany and housing affordability is much much worse than in the USA. The ratio of the median income to the median housing cost is significantly worse: https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_country.jsp https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_count... Renting in the US also is very cheap outside of cities. You can rent in New Jersey and take the train into NYC, or rent in Vallejo and take the train into San Francisco. Over all the income/rent or mortgage ratio, in my experience having rented and purchased in both countries, is much more favorable in the US. Quality of life is a different story.
    - kuschku 3y ago
      > The ratio of the median income to the median housing cost is significantly worse You're again quoting income vs the price to buy property. You're arguing against a strawman with that. The argument is about the cost to rent, combined with the monetary and opportunity cost of commuting associated with that.
      - mcntsh 3y ago
        It was easier for me to find a rental in NYC than in was in Berlin so I wouldn't really say Germany is ahead there either. Maybe if you got a rental 10 years ago? German rental markets are price-controlled which means extreme shortages because... surprise surprise... Germans don't build either.

mcntsh 3y ago

> Sure, the housing market in Europe is struggling as well, but it's not even close to the situation in the US because so much affordable housing in mixed-use middle density buildings is available. Housing affordability in Europe is, in most places, way worse than in the US. Not sure where Americans get this idea that it's better there.

kuschku 3y ago
I'm not an american, I actually live in Germany. And as long as you rent instead of buying hohsing affordability is okay in most cities, and in those where it isn't the transit network is good enough that you can easily commute without an expensive car.
- mcntsh 3y ago
  Yeah I also live in Germany and housing affordability is much much worse than in the USA. The ratio of the median income to the median housing cost is significantly worse: https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_country.jsp https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_count... Renting in the US also is very cheap outside of cities. You can rent in New Jersey and take the train into NYC, or rent in Vallejo and take the train into San Francisco. Over all the income/rent or mortgage ratio, in my experience having rented and purchased in both countries, is much more favorable in the US. Quality of life is a different story.
  - kuschku 3y ago
    > The ratio of the median income to the median housing cost is significantly worse You're again quoting income vs the price to buy property. You're arguing against a strawman with that. The argument is about the cost to rent, combined with the monetary and opportunity cost of commuting associated with that.
    - mcntsh 3y ago
      It was easier for me to find a rental in NYC than in was in Berlin so I wouldn't really say Germany is ahead there either. Maybe if you got a rental 10 years ago? German rental markets are price-controlled which means extreme shortages because... surprise surprise... Germans don't build either.