@ymroddi.bsky.social
Also NYC is building a lot. Jersey City is building like crazy and neither place is getting any cheaper. It's getting more expensive faster.
nypost.com/2024/08/20/r...
nypost.com/2024/08/20/r...
NYC has more homes under construction than any other US city: Report
New construction is set to reach a historic national high this year, according to a new study from RentCafe.
nypost.com
January 3, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Also NYC is building a lot. Jersey City is building like crazy and neither place is getting any cheaper. It's getting more expensive faster.
nypost.com/2024/08/20/r...
nypost.com/2024/08/20/r...
That is not really what I am proposing. In other parts of this thread, what I am proposing is to build in cheaper to build areas. You can build an SFR just about anywhere outside of NYC cheaper per sqft than an apartment in NYC.
January 3, 2025 at 12:44 AM
That is not really what I am proposing. In other parts of this thread, what I am proposing is to build in cheaper to build areas. You can build an SFR just about anywhere outside of NYC cheaper per sqft than an apartment in NYC.
In my view, we have spent 20+ years concentrating economic opportunity in a hand full of big cities and we need to figure out a way to undo that. Doing so, will go a long way to solving our housing issues. I don't think there is solution to housing without doing it.
January 3, 2025 at 12:41 AM
In my view, we have spent 20+ years concentrating economic opportunity in a hand full of big cities and we need to figure out a way to undo that. Doing so, will go a long way to solving our housing issues. I don't think there is solution to housing without doing it.
Both. Everything that can be done. Experiment with new ways to do it. We are mostly talking about desk jobs which are very easy to move. Several companies have moved their HQs in the past few years without problem. I would prefer that big companies open offices in more places.
January 3, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Both. Everything that can be done. Experiment with new ways to do it. We are mostly talking about desk jobs which are very easy to move. Several companies have moved their HQs in the past few years without problem. I would prefer that big companies open offices in more places.
Policies that move the good jobs to areas with cheaper building costs. Every level of gov't has spent decades influencing where the jobs have gone with hundreds of different policies. Biden did it with IRA policies.
Also, you can build denser in these small cities.
Also, you can build denser in these small cities.
January 3, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Policies that move the good jobs to areas with cheaper building costs. Every level of gov't has spent decades influencing where the jobs have gone with hundreds of different policies. Biden did it with IRA policies.
Also, you can build denser in these small cities.
Also, you can build denser in these small cities.
It is certainly not zoning.
January 3, 2025 at 12:22 AM
It is certainly not zoning.
I think you would be surprised how much it costs to build apt vs houses in different cities. Do you know how much it costs per sqft to build SFR/lowrise/midrise/highrise in your city?
January 3, 2025 at 12:21 AM
I think you would be surprised how much it costs to build apt vs houses in different cities. Do you know how much it costs per sqft to build SFR/lowrise/midrise/highrise in your city?
Where is the happening? Building higher increases costs a lot with the biggest leap between 2-7 stories and about linear after that. I've seen an SFR torn down and replaced with 2 townhomes on the same lot each priced more than the SFR!
January 3, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Where is the happening? Building higher increases costs a lot with the biggest leap between 2-7 stories and about linear after that. I've seen an SFR torn down and replaced with 2 townhomes on the same lot each priced more than the SFR!
As you can see, the top rated cities are all smaller cities. All these cities have cheaper construction costs than the superstar cities.
www.governing.com/community/th...
www.governing.com/community/th...
The Best and Worst Run Cities in America
By comparing the operating efficiency of 149 of the largest U.S. cities, experts at WalletHub, the personal finance firm, have come up with a score for which ones are managed best.
www.governing.com
January 3, 2025 at 12:16 AM
As you can see, the top rated cities are all smaller cities. All these cities have cheaper construction costs than the superstar cities.
www.governing.com/community/th...
www.governing.com/community/th...
also Amsterdam has a housing crisis despite being able to build apartments over shops.
www.theguardian.com/news/article...
www.theguardian.com/news/article...
‘Everything’s just … on hold’: the Netherlands’ next-level housing crisis
Amsterdammers find themselves at the nadir of a Europe-wide housing shortage. But some bold initiatives offer hope
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2025 at 12:12 AM
also Amsterdam has a housing crisis despite being able to build apartments over shops.
www.theguardian.com/news/article...
www.theguardian.com/news/article...
Not talking about extremes. Medium sized cities deliver services more efficient than the biggest cities. Are you saying LA is well run and efficient service delivery????
To fix housing affordability without building a lot in smaller cities where it is cheap and easy to build.
To fix housing affordability without building a lot in smaller cities where it is cheap and easy to build.
January 3, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Not talking about extremes. Medium sized cities deliver services more efficient than the biggest cities. Are you saying LA is well run and efficient service delivery????
To fix housing affordability without building a lot in smaller cities where it is cheap and easy to build.
To fix housing affordability without building a lot in smaller cities where it is cheap and easy to build.
Meanwhile, also in Japan. www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/a...
Super-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that’s a problem | CNN
The number of vacant houses in Japan has surged to a record high of nine million – more than enough for each person in New York City – as the east Asian country continues to struggle with its ever-dec...
www.cnn.com
January 3, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Meanwhile, also in Japan. www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/a...
And the problem is that building with more density only increases land and construction costs. Developers are not going to build more than demand. They aren't going to lose money so people can live somewhere cool. You only get production at volume when prices are *rising*.
January 3, 2025 at 12:03 AM
And the problem is that building with more density only increases land and construction costs. Developers are not going to build more than demand. They aren't going to lose money so people can live somewhere cool. You only get production at volume when prices are *rising*.
But they are inefficient. Public services are delivered more effectively and efficiently in small/medium cities than the biggest cities.
January 2, 2025 at 11:57 PM
But they are inefficient. Public services are delivered more effectively and efficiently in small/medium cities than the biggest cities.
Ah yes, Tokyo. Tokyo had 30 years of a flatline economy. Now it is growing again, what's happening? Skyrocketing housing, especially in areas favored by young professionals - just like US big cities!
soranews24.com/2024/01/31/t...
soranews24.com/2024/01/31/t...
January 2, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Ah yes, Tokyo. Tokyo had 30 years of a flatline economy. Now it is growing again, what's happening? Skyrocketing housing, especially in areas favored by young professionals - just like US big cities!
soranews24.com/2024/01/31/t...
soranews24.com/2024/01/31/t...
My argument would be we need to new cities or focus on growing smaller cities where construction/land costs are low.
It is better for the country as a whole to increase the number of agglomeration cities than increase the size of the existing ones.
It is better for the country as a whole to increase the number of agglomeration cities than increase the size of the existing ones.
January 2, 2025 at 11:51 PM
My argument would be we need to new cities or focus on growing smaller cities where construction/land costs are low.
It is better for the country as a whole to increase the number of agglomeration cities than increase the size of the existing ones.
It is better for the country as a whole to increase the number of agglomeration cities than increase the size of the existing ones.
So your plan is for developers to make catastrophic misjudgments of their markets, overbuild, lose money and go out of business (and cause construction workers to lose their jobs and leave the industry).
January 2, 2025 at 11:49 PM
So your plan is for developers to make catastrophic misjudgments of their markets, overbuild, lose money and go out of business (and cause construction workers to lose their jobs and leave the industry).
Yes, we should have policies that address where the jobs are. After all, policies at all levels of gov't have greatly influenced where the jobs are for decades.
January 2, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Yes, we should have policies that address where the jobs are. After all, policies at all levels of gov't have greatly influenced where the jobs are for decades.
Even MattY admits upzoning is woefully insufficient.
Ask YIMBYs what else we should do, I just get 'I don't care, I just want to upzone SF.'
Ask YIMBYs what else we should do, I just get 'I don't care, I just want to upzone SF.'
January 2, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Even MattY admits upzoning is woefully insufficient.
Ask YIMBYs what else we should do, I just get 'I don't care, I just want to upzone SF.'
Ask YIMBYs what else we should do, I just get 'I don't care, I just want to upzone SF.'
My argument is really about YIMBYs insisting on doing ineffective policy. It is really hard to bring down construction costs in the cities YIMBYs are most concerned with. Yet, almost all YIMBY don't want to talk about anything but upzoning the most expensive cities.
January 2, 2025 at 11:22 PM
My argument is really about YIMBYs insisting on doing ineffective policy. It is really hard to bring down construction costs in the cities YIMBYs are most concerned with. Yet, almost all YIMBY don't want to talk about anything but upzoning the most expensive cities.
At the most basic level, my argument is that is more important to bring good jobs to areas with 400k housing than add 900k housing to an area with good jobs.
January 2, 2025 at 11:18 PM
At the most basic level, my argument is that is more important to bring good jobs to areas with 400k housing than add 900k housing to an area with good jobs.
You are making a mistake that policies do not require prioritization. Policies the prioritize building in expensive markets look different than prioritizing building in areas with low construction costs. Prioritizing expensive areas can hinder growth in the cheap areas.
January 2, 2025 at 11:16 PM
You are making a mistake that policies do not require prioritization. Policies the prioritize building in expensive markets look different than prioritizing building in areas with low construction costs. Prioritizing expensive areas can hinder growth in the cheap areas.
Portland after a city and state wave of YIMBY legislation is set to produce only 500 units 25% of the housing of 2023 (2000).
www.wweek.com/news/2024/04...
www.wweek.com/news/2024/04...
January 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Portland after a city and state wave of YIMBY legislation is set to produce only 500 units 25% of the housing of 2023 (2000).
www.wweek.com/news/2024/04...
www.wweek.com/news/2024/04...
Austin is very interesting because all that building happened *before* YIMBY policies. Austin could have produced a building boom at any time in the past few decades with their pre-YIMBY regulations, but did not. Why? In my other message, experts expect undersupply in a few years (despite YIMBYism).
January 2, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Austin is very interesting because all that building happened *before* YIMBY policies. Austin could have produced a building boom at any time in the past few decades with their pre-YIMBY regulations, but did not. Why? In my other message, experts expect undersupply in a few years (despite YIMBYism).