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The private homebuilding sector is not going to build at the rate required to improve supply, because excess supply will cut into their margins. Deregulating wi
by mnd999 3y ago
The private homebuilding sector is not going to build at the rate required to improve supply, because excess supply will cut into their margins. Deregulating will just allow them to build a ton of cheap low quality housing and still charge enormous amounts for it. Landlords would just pass that on.
The solution is quality social housing, built by the state in large enough quantities to disrupt the market.
- ecshafer 3y agoWhat do zoning changes have to do with quality of housing?
- foxyv 3y agoR1 zoning prevents the creation of affordable housing. Since you can only fit maybe two or three households per acre, and land prices are sky high, the only affordable housing is in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours from anything. Something like this would be a huge improvement and reduce housing costs. https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/6/6/toward-dynamic-zoning-codes https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/6/6/toward-dynamic-...
- ecshafer 3y agoI agree with this. But the person i responded to was implying that relaxed zoning rules would leave more shoddy houses by developers. Despite building regulations being completely different than zoning.
- foxyv 3y agoAhh! Yeah I was thinking the same thing. It makes no sense that zoning would affect building quality.
- bugglebeetle 3y agoThis is being downvoted, but it’s actually what countries that have solved this problem have done. Even everyone’s favorite “no zoning, build, build, build” paradise Japan accomplished this by also building a large amount of public housing: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danchi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danchi Housing didn’t become a depreciating asset there over night. It was the express result of the state intervening in the market.
- mnd999 3y agoSounds a bit too commie for the yanks.
- foxyv 3y agoThe younger generation is coming around. In a hundred years or so things may change, but until then we're stuck with our current political economic system. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/09/19/modest-declines-in-positive-views-of-socialism-and-capitalism-in-u-s/pp_2022-09-19_socialism-capitalism_00-06/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/09/19/modest-decli...
- davidw 3y agoIt can be a 'yes, and' thing. You can do both. You can't build a bunch of Japan style public housing if you do not have Japan style zoning.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- BobaFloutist 3y agoIf you convert 10 single-family-homes worth a million dollars each into a skyscraper with a thousand units there's plenty of room for profit, even if the thousand units are cheaper than the current median cost for a condo (or rental). Cities have been writing laws and zoning that prevent economies of scale from kicking in for decades. If they just stop doing that, we'll get more housing.
- triceratops 3y ago> Deregulating will just allow them to build a ton of cheap low quality housing and still charge enormous amounts for it. You're stating this like it's a fact, but you haven't explained why. In a free market, competition is on the basis of price and quality.
- foxyv 3y agoAllowing existing homeowners to increase their revenue by densifying housing will drive prices down. Although developers for single family dwellings will not be as happy about it, if you have a 1/3 Acre lot 10 miles from downtown S.F. which you can turn from a single family $3000 a month rental into a multi-unit $30,000 a month rental then you will be happy to do so. Even if it drives down the value of your $800/month rental in the middle of nowhere. Imagine if you are currently owning and occupying a house and have a chance to pay your mortgage by building a rental property on the unoccupied half of your lot. A lot of people would be very happy to do so if it were legalized. Edit: But you are totally right that socialized housing would be an excellent solution.