6 ms·

We don’t (only) need 5:1 builds. You can fit smaller 2-6 unit builds on many SFH plots. Either via small apartments or small THs/triplexes.

davidw 3y ago
I agree completely. Legalize it all and see what works out. Still though, the loans are more expensive right now, and that is a Fed thing. Perhaps they affect that kind of housing you're describing a bit less in some cases, but it's still a problem there for some developers.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- AnthonyMouse 3y ago
  It's partially a Fed thing. Higher interest rates in general lead to higher interest rates for construction loans. But if you're trying to spur housing construction without causing general inflation, maybe offer lower interest loans only for housing construction?
  - davidw 3y ago
    I'm not sure how you get that without getting the government involved in providing those lower rates. I'm not opposed to that, but it makes everything a bit trickier...
    - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
      Offer a tax credit for a percentage of interest paid on construction loans. Then you still get them from a bank but pay less interest.
koolba 3y ago
You’re forgetting that the people living in those towns don’t want you to suddenly increase the housing stock by 5x and with it the class sizes. Why should a minority of people, especially those that don’t even live in these towns, dictate how the town will be changing? If dense housing is the bees knees, make people want to live in cities.
- redserk 3y ago
  Everyone was new to their town at some point.
- davidw 3y ago
  This attitude is why we have a housing crisis. Not banks or Blackstone, not RealPage, not foreign buyers, not short term rentals. Those things may not help, but the lid on the housing supply are people in your city who, ironically, generally are a small but involved minority who show up to say NO to housing and NO to a diversity of housing types.
- adgjlsfhk1 3y ago
  increasing housing stock doesn't increase class size. some of the extra people you get are teachers and so the school hires more teachers and runs more classes.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  Conversely: why should my neighbor get to dictate if I get to build a duplex on my property.
  - koolba 3y ago
    Same reason you have a say in whether there’s a strip mine or a landfill across the street from your property. The residents come together and decide on the rules by which they will be governed. Just because they don’t jive with exactly how you’d want things doesn’t mean the system is not working as it’s intended.
    - secstate 3y ago
      But that's a silly example, because proving net-harm from industrial uses across from residential is easy. Proving net-harm from denser residential is generally an exercise in NIMBY-ism that slides very smoothly into classism and racism about who would live in those denser units. Residents coming together to decide on rules by which they are governed can get us public lynching too. It doesn't mean it's good governance.

davidw 3y ago

I agree completely. Legalize it all and see what works out. Still though, the loans are more expensive right now, and that is a Fed thing. Perhaps they affect that kind of housing you're describing a bit less in some cases, but it's still a problem there for some developers.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
AnthonyMouse 3y ago
It's partially a Fed thing. Higher interest rates in general lead to higher interest rates for construction loans. But if you're trying to spur housing construction without causing general inflation, maybe offer lower interest loans only for housing construction?
- davidw 3y ago
  I'm not sure how you get that without getting the government involved in providing those lower rates. I'm not opposed to that, but it makes everything a bit trickier...
  - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
    Offer a tax credit for a percentage of interest paid on construction loans. Then you still get them from a bank but pay less interest.

koolba 3y ago

You’re forgetting that the people living in those towns don’t want you to suddenly increase the housing stock by 5x and with it the class sizes. Why should a minority of people, especially those that don’t even live in these towns, dictate how the town will be changing? If dense housing is the bees knees, make people want to live in cities.

redserk 3y ago
Everyone was new to their town at some point.
davidw 3y ago
This attitude is why we have a housing crisis. Not banks or Blackstone, not RealPage, not foreign buyers, not short term rentals. Those things may not help, but the lid on the housing supply are people in your city who, ironically, generally are a small but involved minority who show up to say NO to housing and NO to a diversity of housing types.
adgjlsfhk1 3y ago
increasing housing stock doesn't increase class size. some of the extra people you get are teachers and so the school hires more teachers and runs more classes.
dghlsakjg 3y ago
Conversely: why should my neighbor get to dictate if I get to build a duplex on my property.
- koolba 3y ago
  Same reason you have a say in whether there’s a strip mine or a landfill across the street from your property. The residents come together and decide on the rules by which they will be governed. Just because they don’t jive with exactly how you’d want things doesn’t mean the system is not working as it’s intended.
  - secstate 3y ago
    But that's a silly example, because proving net-harm from industrial uses across from residential is easy. Proving net-harm from denser residential is generally an exercise in NIMBY-ism that slides very smoothly into classism and racism about who would live in those denser units. Residents coming together to decide on rules by which they are governed can get us public lynching too. It doesn't mean it's good governance.