I'm... not even really clear what you are aiming for, to be honest. So, first to directly answer. The naive search showed dorms costing about 1000 a month, wi

I'm... not even really clear what you are aiming for, to be honest. So, first to directly answer. The naive search showed dorms costing about 1000 a month, with standard rent being 1600. Which is a dramatic savings to be had. Now, do I think dormitories are the low cost option in the cities today? No. In large part because they are for students only. By definition you are not aiming to solve homelessness with that. But if you see them as the main surviving case of the type of housing this article is discussing, it does look clear that that can help drive to lower cost housing. With the obvious fact that some places will remain more expensive than others. And as long as we are discussing lowest cost options for someone, I think assuming a direct path to ownership is probably not appropriate. These options are far more substitutes for standard rent. Which, I don't think anyone is saying that property tax is the reason giant rental complexes have higher rent? Any more so than property tax causing the high cost of school dorms.