Submitted by felsonj t3_ztpmyj in Newark

I imagine others have read Darren Tobia’s recent piece about a Rutgers study by Rutgers law professor David Troutt. Tobia’s piece is highly tendentious in a way one wouldn't expect from a website that is primarily about promoting real estate developments. I wish he would present a more balanced picture that takes account the complexities of the situation. Tobia doesn't provide a link to the study he's reporting, and I cannot find the study to dig into its results more thoroughly.

But the upside of the article is Tobia’s assertion that significant residential investment in Newark is making the city less affordable, and thus making home ownership more difficult for those of more modest means. This is true in a technical sense, but it completely misses the main culprit.

If the shelves at the store are bare, I could point a finger at early customers as the cause of my inability to buy what I want. If others hadn't purchased what I wanted, then I would still be able to buy those items. But placing the blame squarely with customers requires, I would think most would concede, a kind of tunnel vision. I could just as easily ask why didn't the store produce sufficient goods to meet demand?

Like so much thinking on the issue, Tobia’s piece assumes an essentially fixed pie, where more for some necessarily means less for others. Wealth is generated on the backs of other people. And then he touts low-income housing lotteries, which are a laughably inadequate solution to the problem.

The policy issue to tackle is the insufficient supply of housing in the region. When the price of housing rises as much as it has in Newark over the last few years, there should be proportional increases in new construction. The city and state governments should be focused on lowering the cost of new construction, not passing laws to deter investment in low income areas.

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Juicey_J_Hammerman t1_j1fdoqw wrote

I kind of take issue with Jersey Digs’ Op-Ed’s for articles like this and that ongoing Mosque sale saga. Not even necessarily for the positions themselves, but how they’re articulated and don’t really make an effort to dive deep into larger nuances.

I respect Jersey Digs’ coverage of a lot of Development in the area that might otherwise go overlooked in the NY/NJ real estate press, but this eats into some of that goodwill.

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Ironboundian t1_j1ghayp wrote

They are op Ed’s. They are meant to be one sided. Reach out to the website and offer to write a pro supply side argument about how few units the city is producing with data to back it up. I bet you would get a reply.

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calambre10 t1_j1es06m wrote

Yes, because new construction certainly made Jersey City the most affordable city in America with abundant housing across all incomes. /s

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felsonj OP t1_j1f1l07 wrote

This doesn't work as a causal argument. For a causal argument, you need to estimate the counterfactual. If JC had built less housing, the prices in JC would likely be even higher.

Housing is MUCH more affordable in parts of the US where there are fewer restrictions on building and construction that drive up the price.

I suggest Matt Yglesias' book The Rent is Too Damn High: https://www.amazon.com/Rent-Too-Damn-High-Matters-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+rent+is+too+damn+high&qid=1671828970&sprefix=the+rent+is+too%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1

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effort268 t1_j1fy494 wrote

Jersey city is right next to the largest and and wealthiest city in america. Ofcourse its going to be expensive, so will Newark. The reason for the increase is because people are finally seeing the value that these cities have, plus Tech has been booming in nyc hence the significant rise in salaries. I have tons of 25-30 year old friends making 120-150k base salary. If we want to slow the increase in prices, we need to build more housing so people like them dont kick us out.

Let’s not oversimplified a very complex nationwide issue. Please watch the below video.

P.S - I’m a big ally when it comes to affordable housing but this is not just about building more, this is about increasing wages (30% of newark is under poverty), better quality education, more opportunities for better jobs (nyc is just 25 min away, take advantage), better social safety nets so people dont have to fall into poverty. Better acess to affordable healthcare. Better drug laws so were not criminalizing people for personal amount of drugs. Rehabilitation for prisoners/homeless so people can become productive members of our society. Raise taxes on billion dollar corporations and so we can fund some of these initiatives.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cEsC5hNfPU4&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

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