Economy Great Article Breaking Down the US Housing Crisis & Why Government Isn't Doing Anything About It

[blackheart]

I’ve agreed with both you and @Sinister this weekend.

I’ve now turned into a progressive liberal.

we're both socialists. but I'll take what I can get lol.

 

[Rob Battisti]

we're both socialists. but I'll take what I can get lol.

Apparently I’m with you, comrade.

 

[Scheme]

Jack is a wealthy man that lives in a bubble. He literally has no idea what life is really like for middle class/working class people. That's why his analysis often seems so completely disconnected from the reality that the rest of us live in. He literally cannot relate.

600k homes might sound like a bargain if you're living in LA/NY/SF/Seattle making 200/300/400/500k+. But when you're an average Utahn making average Utahn salaries, 600k is insane. It's a hair less Than 12x my slightly above average salary in corporate management. Affordable homes are 3-5x your salary.

No major cities in the Western world are affordable. US actually has some of the most affordable for a first world country. Look at any major European and Canadian city and they are mostly worse.

In fact, in terms of income to price ratios, affordability indexes, mortgage to income ratios, etc. At a country level, we are the best in terms of the first world.
www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_country.jsp

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

Solutions is to build more, but the free market doesn’t want that to get done.

I think a big part of the issue as well is once a developer has a chunk of land, why would he build affordable housing on it when he could build luxury units and make way more money?

Compare it to any other industry and sure, the companies making luxury goods make more proft across the board, but there is generally room for budget options as well because of access to cheap labour and materials. In the case of housing that just isn't true.

All the usuable land is tied up in restrictive covenants which keeps the value of land insanely inflated. In Canada we use like 10% of our land and the other 90% you aren't allowed to even own. It's all tied up in ridiculous 'crown land' covenants.

Until supply catches up with demand, there will be no relief and there is no way for supply to ever catch up with demand in places like the US and Canada due to various refugee/migrant crises and the simple fact that life so much better here than everywhere else that there will always be more immigrants desperate to get here legal or otherwise.

I've literally never had a friend or family member from overseas come for a visit here and not want to move here afterwards. That's how bad everywhere else is. Even the 'good' countries like the UK.

I've been all over Europe and never once felt like 'gee I wish I lived here.'

 

[Scerpi]

I said we fixed the shit on the sidewalk issue.

We spend millions on the housing issue and mismanage the funds.

We are actively paying to house them, but the city is inept.

Sleeping, shitting and shooting up on sidewalks isn’t a solution.

Would you be happier if the cops left them around the corner from you versus move them on?

Government is inept you say?

California failed to track how billions are spent to combat homelessness programs, audit finds​

California failed to track how billions are spent to combat homelessness programs, audit finds

According to the state audit, California has not collected sufficient data to determine whether the programs have been effective.

www.usatoday.com

There’s too many people grifting off the system to actually want to fix it.

 

[method115]

What housing crisis? I live in a upper end building with a pool, gym, theatre, and heated garage next to huge university. Its under 1k a month here, half the fucking building is empty.

Not all states have an issue. I know in my area of Texas things are great but we have plenty of land to build new housing and they are doing exactly that. Then we have programs for first time home buyers making under like 65k. Well that was like 10 years ago not sure if the salary cap has changed.

 

[Scerpi]

Solutions is to build more, but the free market doesn’t want that to get done.

Try visiting states that don’t have oppressive red tape stifling new construction

I’ve seen the borders of the Houston Metro aRea expand from the Beltway 8 Loop to now out past the Highway 99 loop.

It’s unreal.

To give you how big the the HW 99 loops is… it’s about a 3 hour trip to drive the entire thing

The A, B, C sections are future.

The areas between 8 and 99 had some development 20 years ago when I moved here. Mostly Katy, Spring and the Woodlands.

But areas between them has filled in. Crazy.

While real estate has increased… it’s not insane like other cities.

But we’ll hit a limit eventually. I can see the I10 and 45 corridors to Dallas/San Antonio eventually fill in

 

[kahiljabroni]

That's crazy...I was just thinking how great government intervention was for healthcare and student loans. Would be amazing if they could work their wonders on housing next!!!

 

[Jack V Savage]

Jack is a wealthy man that lives in a bubble. He literally has no idea what life is really like for middle class/working class people. That's why his analysis often seems so completely disconnected from the reality that the rest of us live in. He literally cannot relate.

600k homes might sound like a bargain if you're living in LA/NY/SF/Seattle making 200/300/400/500k+. But when you're an average Utahn making average Utahn salaries, 600k is insane. It's a hair less Than 12x my slightly above average salary in corporate management. Affordable homes are 3-5x your salary.

If you have a below-average household income, your home will probably cost below average. That's just logic. There's no need to invoke ad hominems to explain why people would accept logic.

 

[ferrisjso]

Rod1 is center right on economics, but I'm not. And leftists who screech about corporate ownership are morons.

The whole point of politics is whether you support or oppose corporations. The reason you screech above it is you just think coporations existing is an undisputable fact of life. You can't comphrehend people resisting the concept.

 

[Jack V Savage]

The whole point of politics is whether you support or oppose corporations. The reason you screech above it is you just think coporations existing is an undisputable fact of life. You can't comphrehend people resisting the concept.

Corporations are just an organizational/legal structure. They're not even that old in terms of human history (arguably developed in the 14th century, but really getting started in the 17th, and then taking a more modern form in the 19th). So obviously I can comprehend them not existing at some point. And I'm aware that there are lots of kooky ideas out there. I read the WR, for one thing.

 

[ferrisjso]

Corporations are just an organizational/legal structure. They're not even that old in terms of human history (arguably developed in the 14th century, but really getting started in the 17th, and then taking a more modern form in the 19th). So obviously I can comprehend them not existing at some point. And I'm aware that there are lots of kooky ideas out there. I read the WR, for one thing.

The profit motive and preserving or destroying it is the main crux of every real political issue.

 

[Jack V Savage]

@Sinister

I had a long reply and then my browser froze so I’ll settle for this:

The city had a 23 year old ordinance that was overturned by an authoritarian mayor and the city voiced its say and reversed the rogue mayor.

The city was one of the most pedestrian friendly cities ever and it turned into a shithole in a matter of months. Of course the only place the mayor didn’t allow camping was city hall.

You had beautiful parks and sidewalks littered with shit, bottles of piss, unconscious people and needles.

The people said no.

The people also said yes to MILLILONS OF DOLLARS of aide which the council has mismanaged. We have locations already bought and paid for in Austin that the city refuses to move forward with bringing the homeless into and it’s not NIMBY issues. We have locations just outside the city also bought and paid for.

I live here.

It went from being safe and beautiful to walk to stepping over shit in a matter of months.

Thank god people actually have a say versus ONE authoritarian mayor.

It's not really possible to eliminate homelessness by making it illegal.

What actually happened was a large increase in demand for housing, followed by soaring prices, followed by a lot of new construction, followed by the fastest-falling rents in the country. Markets generally work if you let them.

 

[Jack V Savage]

The profit motive and preserving or destroying it is the main crux of every real political issue.

No.

 

[ferrisjso]

No.

Yes.

Your whole thing is about talking neoliberal unipolairy into existence as its killing everyone.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Yes.

Your whole thing is about talking neoliberal unipolairy into existence as its killing everyone.

Don't know what you're trying to say, but the profit motive simply exists. You can't "destroy" it any more than you can destroy the hunger or sex motives.

 

[ferrisjso]

Don't know what you're trying to say, but the profit motive simply exists. You can't "destroy" it any more than you can destroy the hunger or sex motives.

This is exactly what I mean. You're trying to make the thing people are working tirelessly to eliminate a natural part of life that can't be resisted.

 

[Jack V Savage]

This is exactly what I mean. You're trying to make the thing people are working tirelessly to eliminate a natural part of life that can't be resisted.

No, it just is a natural part of life. Of course it can be resisted, but it inevitably exists.

 

[blackheart]

Rod1 is center right on economics, but I'm not. And leftists who screech about corporate ownership are morons.

Yeah Jack. Corporate ownership is inconsequential, just like money in politics. It's totally normal for corporations to be paying much more than asking price and for regular people to have to compete against them.

 

[Jack V Savage]

Yeah Jack. Corporate ownership is inconsequential, just like money in politics. It's totally normal for corporations to be paying much more than asking price and for regular people to have to compete against them.

I don't really know what to tell you. Corporations are trying to make a profit; they're not engaging in some kind of economic kamikaze to hurt you. Corporations buying homes are a symptom of the problem rather than a cause. That is, there is insufficient supply to meet demand in certain high-value markets, which causes spiraling price increases that make homes a desirable investment. If you want to fuck them, fix the supply restrictions (and, indeed, you see that listed as a Risk Factor in some of their Ks).