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Are Republicans going to infill the Hudson to make more buildable land? WOW. Sign me up!
Because that's the big chunk of the problem. There's nowhere more to build, so cities like Boston, San Francisco, and NYC have nowhere to expand into but over and up. Many of our suburbs in Boston were built up 100 years ago and while there's definitely an element of NIMBYism, that's not the whole problem.
If someone invests in tearing down older, lower density buildings they're going to charge for it. We see that here in Boston - every apartment complex that goes in replacing cheaper but lower density housing is far more expensive. And why wouldn't it be? It's new and had a lot invested in it, but that's not helping the very real rent inflation.
The Boston area has no rent control but rent costs in my formerly working class suburban neighborhood went from vaguely affordable to only really affordable for groups of young professionals each bringing in their own middle class income in less than 5 years, with yearly increases of $100-$150 per month common over that period.
I have said this before, and only you seem to get it. This is about GEOGRAPHY. NYC is going to be quite expensive. There is nowhere to build. NYC is surrounded by water on several sides. One reason NYC is such a major port city. Two of the 5 boroughs are islands.
Boston and its suburbs are already built up. No doubt that would make things very expensive. There is another factor. Massachusetts is a small state. Rhode Island is a small state. Municipal borders might be influenced by that. Outside of Maine, New England has a small land area and the places highest in demand are already the most crowded areas.
I live in a West Coast city that is already expensive and last year experienced the highest increase in housing costs of any city in America. Although the prices of apartments have gone up with respect to location and square footage, median incomes have gone up at a higher rate, and the quality of new apartments has gone up as well. I pay ~$1350 for a new 380-sqft studio, but with it comes a lot of amenities such as a community gym, community pool, Amazon lockers, movie theater, community barbecues, a mobile app that allows me to put in a service request, armed security guards, etc. A new 1-bdrm in the trendiest of neighborhoods would be around $1800-$2200; it's a consumption choice to pay that much.
What's happening is that major real estate capital has discovered the city, pouring millions of dollars into new construction. They also have discovered a lot of local tech startups and high-income newcomers. This combination drives high-end development. You'll notice there is no local new construction affordable at below-median incomes.
What's an Amazon locker? Amazon deliveries are put in lockers so residents don't have to go to the office during business hours?
Politics has a lot to do with zoning and therefore with the supply of housing. Econ 101 tells us that the supply of housing has a lot to do with rents.
I still don't buy it. I guess you are for no zoning and then there would be plenty of slums and cheaper housing.
Yes. I've met people who have moved to the Atlanta area from California. I've been told that it takes alot of money just to rent in the sketchy areas in parts of the Bay Area. With gentrification, the ghettos are becoming expensive. With median rent at $3600 per month in San Francisco(for a 1 bedroom) and median rent at $2400 for a 1 bedroom in Oakland, many people just leave the state altogether.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilnewbie
Are we talking about New York City or New York State...
Rent control in NYC is administered by the state, so we are talking about the state.
income inequality and housing cost relative to income is always worst in deep blue areas.
Almost like rich liberals don't really care about the less fortunate.
That can't be true of course. Could it?
Like anywhere in the country, a person has a choice. Capitalist markets are at work. No one forces them to live in a city, if they cannot afford it, they can move to a lower cost place. If they choose to live in a lower cost place, there may be fewer jobs, making the the cost less expensive, but they risk fewer choices. This is true anywhere in the country.
There isn't a single affordable metro area in this country.
Out of curiosity, where are you moving? I work remotely most of the time, and my boss said it would be fine if I moved out of the country, so long as I still get my work done and fly in a couple times a year for our quarterly meetings. I know a lot of American and European expats who work remotely are moving to cities in southeast Asia where the cost of living is super cheap.
I'd consider moving to the midwest, but the rising cost of healthcare in America is getting almost worse than rent in major metro areas.
I have said this before, and only you seem to get it. This is about GEOGRAPHY. NYC is going to be quite expensive. There is nowhere to build. NYC is surrounded by water on several sides. One reason NYC is such a major port city. Two of the 5 boroughs are islands.
Boston and its suburbs are already built up. No doubt that would make things very expensive. There is another factor. Massachusetts is a small state. Rhode Island is a small state. Municipal borders might be influenced by that. Outside of Maine, New England has a small land area and the places highest in demand are already the most crowded areas.
Manhattan is an island. Staten Island is an island.
The others are not.
Furthermore, one huge factor in housing prices in NYC is the sheer amount of foreign investment. Russian and Chinese business people love to hide their money in real estate, and developers have been only too happy to oblige.
I have said this before, and only you seem to get it. This is about GEOGRAPHY. NYC is going to be quite expensive. There is nowhere to build. NYC is surrounded by water on several sides. One reason NYC is such a major port city. Two of the 5 boroughs are islands.
Boston and its suburbs are already built up. No doubt that would make things very expensive. There is another factor. Massachusetts is a small state. Rhode Island is a small state. Municipal borders might be influenced by that. Outside of Maine, New England has a small land area and the places highest in demand are already the most crowded areas.
Born, raised and live in "NYC".....
First of all only really Manhattan and the other island (Staten) are surrounded by water. Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens are firmly attached to the rest of the United States with only a fraction of waterfront exposure.
There are several things going on in Manhattan and to an extent the other four boroughs pushing up the cost of housing.
First and foremost Manhattan is no longer the dirty and dangerous place it was late as the 1970's or part of 1980's prompting white flight. The new gussied up and clean (relatively) City has succeeded beyond anyone's dreams of attracting whites, the highly educated and professional classes back. People that once would have moved to the suburbs to live and or raise a family instead are staying in Manhattan. This is causing all sorts of problems basically via economic distortion.
For a long time reasons why housing costs were "low" in much of NYC including Manhattan was largely due to the inability of landlords/property owners to attract and hold those willing to pay more. That has changed as the wealth affect pretty runs from Wall Street/Financial District up through Harlem and onto Washington Heights/Inwood.
With all this new money pouring in those that are being pushed out are heading to Brooklyn, Queens and even parts of the Bronx. This in turn is pushing out long time residents of those areas as they now cannot afford.
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