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goodsam2 t1_j2xdnok wrote

Reply to comment by plummbob in Your City Is the Most Livable in America, Until We Publish This Article About It by ValancourtB

>Prices tell you if a place is nice or not. So if home prices are higher than the cost of construction, then you're not at risk of making a place undesirable, because if it was undesirable, prices would fall below construction costs.

We have elevated construction costs as well with regulations and waiting on them to approve something. This is usually financed and so more time borrowing money means more cost.

This is also why we have made projects so large to need huge financing teams and massive builders rather than some smaller places existing adding an ADU out back for some of these buildings. We have made it big developers by our own choices.

>And there is a missing middle for businesses just like there is for housing. The zoning restrictions basically create a price floor that small businesses/low income people can't ever reach, effectively pricing them out of the market.

Yeah IMO we would get better businesses if we had more cheap places for businesses. That's why food trucks became a thing, startup costs are a lot lower.

Suburbs mostly build out new chains because they can afford the space those places need.

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plummbob t1_j2xebfy wrote

Yeah, it's so wack because the same people who complain about megacorps in housing are also the ones that oppose reducing the zoning costs that make them the only players who can afford to play.

Housing theory of everything yall

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goodsam2 t1_j2xi9dr wrote

I think there's more to it than housing but I think it's a huge piece. I think all payer rate setting would fix a lot (any MRI is $100 and if insurance or you pay cash the max price is $100 in America.

I really wish a party would take this up rather than wading into industries with Baumol's cost disease. Childcare and long term car whether we like it or not will increase with increasing wages across the board.

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plummbob t1_j2xmcr6 wrote

Nimbyism the only truly bipartisan platform

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goodsam2 t1_j2xpf00 wrote

I think it's strange democrats have taken up the issue, I hope they can convince Republicans that regulations can keep us down.

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plummbob t1_j2xrgmc wrote

My experience has been that yimby nerds like myself are all democrats. My repub relatives all seem to be indifferent or uninterested in the topic, and at least notionally for "the free market"

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goodsam2 t1_j2xrsmr wrote

That's why I'm mostly talking about free market elements here, because that's the audience that needs convincing.

It's also a simple let me not compete for your suburban house and let me buy a row house in the fan for a more affordable price.

Land value tax is better economically. The 30 year mortgage was invented by the FDR administration. Zoning is not the free market etc.

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airquotesNotAtWork t1_j2z71l1 wrote

Last republican presidential candidate made a big deal about “protecting your suburbs” so doubtful there’s much help from the right.

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