The shortage has its roots in the financial crisis, and was exacerbated by the pandemic.
We’re also seeing a rapid increase in commercial vacancies with WFH. But there are big challenges and costs to turning commercial properties into residential.
I’ve heard a lot about the problems. Surely there’s some good ideas for a solution out there?
Those are definitely factors as well but I think they are only enabled by the lack of supply. People can’t bid up the price of something if more can be easily produced in response.
A literal truth that ignores the logistical, geographic, and political difficulties of getting those people into those houses.
Historically speaking vacancies are extremely low currently, particularly in areas where housing prices are high and homelessness is common. These problems appeared as the ratio of people to housing increased and it’s not a coincidence.
The easiest solution will be to build more housing where it is most needed, though that takes time and other strategies will be necessary in the interim.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !news@beehaw.org
Breaking news from around the world.
News that is American but has an international facet may also be posted here.
Guidelines for submissions:
Where possible, post the original source of information.
If there is a paywall, you can use alternative sources or provide an archive.today, 12ft.io, etc. link in the body.
Do not editorialize titles. Preserve the original title when possible; edits for clarity are fine.
Do not post ragebait or shock stories. These will be removed.
Do not post tabloid or blogspam stories. These will be removed.
Social media should be a source of last resort.
These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.
Those are definitely factors as well but I think they are only enabled by the lack of supply. People can’t bid up the price of something if more can be easily produced in response.
There is no lack of supply. The supply of empty homes far exceeds the number of unhoused people.
A literal truth that ignores the logistical, geographic, and political difficulties of getting those people into those houses.
Historically speaking vacancies are extremely low currently, particularly in areas where housing prices are high and homelessness is common. These problems appeared as the ratio of people to housing increased and it’s not a coincidence.
The easiest solution will be to build more housing where it is most needed, though that takes time and other strategies will be necessary in the interim.
The difficulty is capitalism. Houses should not be commodities to be bought and sold.