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Polling shows that there's only a slight preference for single family homes. Yet the land usage is absolutely dominated by bans on apartments. If preferences r

Polling shows that there's only a slight preference for single family homes. Yet the land usage is absolutely dominated by bans on apartments. If preferences really were so strong for single family homes, there wouldn't have to be a legal ban on other forms of housing. This stranglehold on the housing problem, by a few politicians and a small number of homeowners banning others from living their preferred way of life, is the true cause of the shortage.

Izikiel43 3y ago
> Polling shows that there's only a slight preference for single family homes. So, 51% vs 49% ? That's still half of the people wanting houses. I agree that regulations are to blame, and most of the voters vote against housing, because people in the us who vote are mostly the boomers, who are mostly homeowners, hence increasing the value on their home.
- epistasis 3y ago
  I think it's more like 60% with a stated preference for single family home over a walkability to amenities. But this is stated preference, not the true preference as revealed by having to put money on the line. And markets prove time and time again that opinion polls do not match up with actual behavior. IMHO, I would suspect more people would choose walkability over SFH than the polls suggest, but I could also be wrong and maybe it would swing the other way. In any case, the market is not allowed to meet consumer demand because of the ubiquity of apartment bans in cities. I have a feeling that if we did more voting rather than backroom deals with a veneer of "public input" where the only people who provide input are busybodies, then we would not have apartment bans at 90% of land area in most cities. (I say "busybody" as a busybody myself, I had to start being one to push back against the housing policy that was causing so many of my friends to move away!)

Izikiel43 3y ago

> Polling shows that there's only a slight preference for single family homes. So, 51% vs 49% ? That's still half of the people wanting houses. I agree that regulations are to blame, and most of the voters vote against housing, because people in the us who vote are mostly the boomers, who are mostly homeowners, hence increasing the value on their home.

epistasis 3y ago
I think it's more like 60% with a stated preference for single family home over a walkability to amenities. But this is stated preference, not the true preference as revealed by having to put money on the line. And markets prove time and time again that opinion polls do not match up with actual behavior. IMHO, I would suspect more people would choose walkability over SFH than the polls suggest, but I could also be wrong and maybe it would swing the other way. In any case, the market is not allowed to meet consumer demand because of the ubiquity of apartment bans in cities. I have a feeling that if we did more voting rather than backroom deals with a veneer of "public input" where the only people who provide input are busybodies, then we would not have apartment bans at 90% of land area in most cities. (I say "busybody" as a busybody myself, I had to start being one to push back against the housing policy that was causing so many of my friends to move away!)