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That's a hard problem to tackle at a national level without the dreaded Socialism.
by mdjdk 12y ago
That's a hard problem to tackle at a national level without the dreaded Socialism.
- whybroke 12y agoCorrect. There is a religious libertarian belief that somehow changing zoning laws will "fix" the problem. No numbers are ever given (maybe prices would stay level for a few years) And no one notices that the extremely dense housing of Manhattan did not make Manhattan cheap. If they want to fix the problem they'd need large tracts of very high grade housing rented non-profit, (never sold) on government land. The competition from this would drive prices through the floor.
- nsnick 12y agoYou have to ask yourself why Manhattan is now cheaper than San Francisco.
- whybroke 12y agoNo, we need to ask is Manhattan affordable? Are Manhattan prices dropping? Did they ever? A 10%-20% price difference is irrelevant and will just disappear in just a few years anyway.
- nsnick 12y agoThe price difference will increase if San Francisco continues to not build enough housing to meet demand.
- whybroke 12y agoThe price will increase no mater what you do so long as you rely on an uncontrolled free market in real-estate. At some point prices will make employing people there impracticable due to wages and commercial rental. In the current system, that is the price point the market will reach no mater how many units are built.
- throwaway9324 12y agoBuilding isn't the main difference between SF and NY. If everyone in Brooklyn want to live in Manhattan prices would be very different. If anything SF has become more centralized and companies keep paying high salaries and other perks playing in to the whole thing.
- nsnick 12y agoTrue, but middle class people not being able to afford rent in Silicon Valley is an easy problem to solve.