UBS thinks Boston Real Estate is fairly priced

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheHorizon

Work for who?

Originally Posted by BeyondtheHorizon

As I stated, if lower class workers left boston, the city would fall apart. You NEED them. There should be affordable housing. It's common sense.

They work. London, Paris, San Francisco, New York are all still function cities that have not fallen apart. They are all way more expensive than Boston and yet they haven't decayed into something awful. People still live there, people still work there (even in the service sectors). They have to work hard to keep people out of Hong Kong, not in, even with their crazy housing situation.

If you want to talk about cities that are falling apart, look at places like Detroit that have become affordable, not about places like San Francisco that have become unaffordable.

That's not to minimize the numerous problems that prosperity can bring to a region, but your doom and gloom predictions do not appear to be accurate.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

They work. London, Paris, San Francisco, New York are all still function cities that have not fallen apart. They are all way more expensive than Boston and yet they haven't decayed into something awful. People still live there, people still work there (even in the service sectors). They have to work hard to keep people out of Hong Kong, not in, even with their crazy housing situation.

If you want to talk about cities that are falling apart, look at places like Detroit that have become affordable, not about places like San Francisco that have become unaffordable.

That's not to minimize the numerous problems that prosperity can bring to a region, but your doom and gloom predictions do not appear to be accurate.

I don't think it's as conclusive as you think to compare two cities at one frozen snapshot in time. For example, Detroit has certainly suffered under the collapse of the automobile industry, no doubt. I think it's fair to say that the auto industry got way bigger than it ever should have due to a multitude of "Artificial" means- state subsidies, massive freeway projects, suburban subsidies, etc. That collapsing of industry was bound to happen and it's better for Detroit to go through these pains now than letting it continue to build until later for the inevitable collapse.

How do we know Boston and other such cities aren't in the middle of a higher education bubble? I certainly think it seems like that. Eds and meds could be just in their peak right now, just as automobiles in the 50s, when Detroit looked pretty darn good. What happens to Boston if its pet industries suffer a collapse?

I don't know that I'm right about this, but my main point is that just because something looks ok now, that doesn't mean that the city long term necessarily will be better off than others that currently don't seem as rosy.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I don't think it's as conclusive as you think to compare two cities at one frozen snapshot in time. For example, Detroit has certainly suffered under the collapse of the automobile industry, no doubt. I think it's fair to say that the auto industry got way bigger than it ever should have due to a multitude of "Artificial" means- state subsidies, massive freeway projects, suburban subsidies, etc. That collapsing of industry was bound to happen and it's better for Detroit to go through these pains now than letting it continue to build until later for the inevitable collapse.

How do we know Boston and other such cities aren't in the middle of a higher education bubble? I certainly think it seems like that. Eds and meds could be just in their peak right now, just as automobiles in the 50s, when Detroit looked pretty darn good. What happens to Boston if its pet industries suffer a collapse?

I don't know that I'm right about this, but my main point is that just because something looks ok now, that doesn't mean that the city long term necessarily will be better off than others that currently don't seem as rosy.

You've read a lot more into what I've written than was there. I'm not sure Boston will get more expensive, I'm only confident that it could without suffering dire consequences. If industries do start collapsing, unaffordable housing won't be a concern.

[Urban Peasant]

The colleges and universities in Boston are likely not going to disappear. Can they see an eventual decrease in enrollment? Sure. Will companies pull out of Boston when their respective markets get too saturated? Likely. Is there a good chance that at least some of them will get replaced? Very much so.

Boston has a diverse economy, a working port, and access to materials that help make it thrive. It too suffered a decline in the 70's and 80's as did New York (you wouldn't have wanted to walk through Times Square in the '70's - you might not have made it out alive) but these cities found a viable formula to sustain themselves for a long run. That is not to say that cities like Detroit cannot thrive again. There's always going to be somebody that can afford Boston but there's always going to be somebody who is willing to invest in less fortunate cities.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

When I lived in Boston (90's) it was more affordable than now. Boston will always be pricey because it has a lot of educated people and trust fund kids that go to BC, BU, Harvard and MIT will always drive up the price in Bay Back.