Developers want to build anywhere and everywhere people would rent or buy, only thing holding em back is state zoning, licensing/permits, and far off in the distance (i.e. not right now), an actual lack of demand for housing.
Yes, of course. The real estate market is behaving in a way that is highly consistent with economic theory. It’s so straightforward that just about any policy analyst from anywhere on the political spectrum could come up with the same exact list of problems. I think we can all appreciate that developers are merely trying to operate a business and that they owe it to themselves and their workers to operate sustainably and only take reasonable profit/risk tradeoffs.
Unfortunately, an appreciation for the underlying theory does not satisfy. Every day I walk one of the most unequal cities in America (Atlanta, GA) and am pained to see homeless bodies huddled against buildings made of solid granite. Just imagine if I tried explaining the economic realities of the housing market to the disabled veteran panhandling at my local MARTA station. Imagine his face as I tell him to please try moving to a suburb or maybe just be patient and wait things out for a few decades while we wait for the real estate market to respond to demand forces. He cannot wait. Exposure will eventually kill him.
I want my city to do what only governments can do and respond to the problem immediately at whatever cost necessary. I want public housing built ASAP because a heartbreaking number of local people are going to die if action is delayed. It is not humane to turn a blind eye while we go and chase the white whale of an economically ideal market solution.
Developers want to build anywhere and everywhere people would rent or buy, only thing holding em back is state zoning, licensing/permits, and far off in the distance (i.e. not right now), an actual lack of demand for housing.
Yes, of course. The real estate market is behaving in a way that is highly consistent with economic theory. It’s so straightforward that just about any policy analyst from anywhere on the political spectrum could come up with the same exact list of problems. I think we can all appreciate that developers are merely trying to operate a business and that they owe it to themselves and their workers to operate sustainably and only take reasonable profit/risk tradeoffs.
Unfortunately, an appreciation for the underlying theory does not satisfy. Every day I walk one of the most unequal cities in America (Atlanta, GA) and am pained to see homeless bodies huddled against buildings made of solid granite. Just imagine if I tried explaining the economic realities of the housing market to the disabled veteran panhandling at my local MARTA station. Imagine his face as I tell him to please try moving to a suburb or maybe just be patient and wait things out for a few decades while we wait for the real estate market to respond to demand forces. He cannot wait. Exposure will eventually kill him.
I want my city to do what only governments can do and respond to the problem immediately at whatever cost necessary. I want public housing built ASAP because a heartbreaking number of local people are going to die if action is delayed. It is not humane to turn a blind eye while we go and chase the white whale of an economically ideal market solution.