Addressing the housing crisis

[kdmc]

Why does the school budget keep increasing if the student population keeps decreasing?

Baumol effect - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[stick n move]

What if public housing were for everyone?​

Local governments are trying a new way to address the housing crisis.

“Quietly and with little fanfare, the idea of building new publicly owned housing for people across the income spectrum has advanced in the United States.

Governments have successfully addressed housing shortages through publicly developed housing in places like Vienna, Finland, and Singapore in the past, but these examples have typically inspired little attention in the US — which has more restrictive welfare policies and a bias toward private homeownership.

Then one US community started exploring social housing with a markedly more American twist: Leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland — a suburban region just outside Washington, DC, with more than 1 million residents — said they could increase their local housing supply not by ramping up European-style welfare subsidies but through essentially intervening in the traditional capitalist bidding process. Government, when it wants to, can make attractive bids.

Now, with an acute nationwide housing shortage, and declining home construction due to high interest rates, the idea is spreading, and more local officials have been moving forward with plans to create publicly owned housing. They are very clear about not calling it “public housing”: To help differentiate these projects from the typical stigmatized, income-restricted, and underfunded model, leaders have coalesced around calling the mixed-income idea “social housing” produced by “public developers.”…..….”

https://www.vox.com/policy/2024/2/10/24065342/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis

 

[TallIsGood]

People Costs. Combination of collective
bargaining increases and increases in headcount. Keep in mind that BPS is an urban district that serves a disproportionate number students that need special services - BPS notes that 24% of their students and budget are accounted for by SPED. That's a much higher percentage than elsewhere in the state.
View attachment 53109View attachment 53110

You answered what costs were increasing but not why they were increasing relative to student population or other districts. Overall, there is a bloat in administrators and cost of education that is laughable. No accountability at the city level. And the education is generally below average for above average cost.

 

[Johnnyrocket891]

If there is a housing crisis why allow Hedge Funds or Blackrock to buy single family/Multi homes?
Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of Americans building solid community along with building long-term wealth for the American Family.

Would there really be a shortage of housing if the corporations/hedgefunds/College institutions were not allowed to buy housing in residential areas?

 

[kmp1284]

If there is a housing crisis why allow Hedge Funds or Blackrock to buy single family/Multi homes?
Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of Americans building solid community along with building long-term wealth for the American Family.

Would there really be a shortage of housing if the corporations/hedgefunds/College institutions were not allowed to buy housing in residential areas?

Aside from the fact that your initial supposition re BlackRock is complete bullshit, what you propose would likely be illegal, unethical, economically catastrophic and ultimately very easy for companies to get around if such a law was implemented. And that all assumes that there’s a politician out there to write such a bill and a legislative body to pass it, which there is not.

 

[Johnnyrocket891]

Aside from the fact that your initial supposition re BlackRock is complete bullshit, what you propose would likely be illegal, unethical, economically catastrophic and ultimately very easy for companies to get around if such a law was implemented. And that all assumes that there’s a politician out there to write such a bill and a legislative body to pass it, which there is not.

Printing $35 trillion in national debt and running a $1.8 trillion deficit is unsustainable and, some argue, illegal.
https://www.usdebtclock.org/
The U.S. debt clock data clearly speaks for itself.

The involvement of BlackRock and other banking institutions in buying real estate was largely a response to the derivatives market crisis in 2008. Some estimates suggest there could be almost $630 trillion in derivatives, with some claims even reaching into the quadrillions.

This situation is a criminal racket on a catastrophic scale, targeting humanity and, in particular, the American working class. These institutions are essentially papering over massive debts by acquiring assets, thereby undermining the labor value of the American working class. The collapse is unfolding before our eyes, yet many people struggle to acknowledge it.

The interest on the national debt is poised to exceed 100% of tax revenue. While the crypto boom may buy some time, the end result will be devastating. Many Americans will suffer if we fail to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.

Rent increases​

Blackstone purchased 66 rental properties with 5,800 units in the San Diego area for over $1 billion in 2021, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Since then, the company has increased rent at most of these properties by 38% — from an average of $1,696 a month to $2,339 a month — the report states, citing data from real estate research firm Yardi Matrix. One building’s rent prices increased by an average of 79%, while another experienced a 71% jump.

Meanwhile, the report says the average rent increase across all apartments in the San Diego market was 20% — from $2,259 a month to $2,706 a month — during that time.

Many of the units purchased by Blackstone were considered “naturally occurring affordable housing,” according to the report, meaning they were affordable but not subsidized by government housing initiatives — and vulnerable to large rent increases upon ownership change.

Blackstone & Blackrock-
Same type of Company just different actors-

BlackRock and Blackstone were once part of the same company, but they split in 1994 due to differences in their business models and strategies. The split was a result of disagreements between the founders, Larry Fink and Stephen Schwarzman, regarding the future direction of the firm

Blackstone Group to buy 66 apartment complexes in San Diego for more than $1 billion

Private equity giant Blackstone Group plans to purchase 66 residential complexes in San Diego County for more than $1 billion in one of the biggest real estate transactions in local history. New Yo…

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

 

[kmp1284]

Printing $35 trillion in national debt and running a $1.8 trillion deficit is unsustainable and, some argue, illegal.
https://www.usdebtclock.org/
The U.S. debt clock data clearly speaks for itself.

The involvement of BlackRock and other banking institutions in buying real estate was largely a response to the derivatives market crisis in 2008. Some estimates suggest there could be almost $630 trillion in derivatives, with some claims even reaching into the quadrillions.

This situation is a criminal racket on a catastrophic scale, targeting humanity and, in particular, the American working class. These institutions are essentially papering over massive debts by acquiring assets, thereby undermining the labor value of the American working class. The collapse is unfolding before our eyes, yet many people struggle to acknowledge it.

The interest on the national debt is poised to exceed 100% of tax revenue. While the crypto boom may buy some time, the end result will be devastating. Many Americans will suffer if we fail to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.

Rent increases​

Blackstone purchased 66 rental properties with 5,800 units in the San Diego area for over $1 billion in 2021, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Since then, the company has increased rent at most of these properties by 38% — from an average of $1,696 a month to $2,339 a month — the report states, citing data from real estate research firm Yardi Matrix. One building’s rent prices increased by an average of 79%, while another experienced a 71% jump.

Meanwhile, the report says the average rent increase across all apartments in the San Diego market was 20% — from $2,259 a month to $2,706 a month — during that time.

Many of the units purchased by Blackstone were considered “naturally occurring affordable housing,” according to the report, meaning they were affordable but not subsidized by government housing initiatives — and vulnerable to large rent increases upon ownership change.

Blackstone & Blackrock-
Same type of Company just different actors-

BlackRock and Blackstone were once part of the same company, but they split in 1994 due to differences in their business models and strategies. The split was a result of disagreements between the founders, Larry Fink and Stephen Schwarzman, regarding the future direction of the firm

Blackstone Group to buy 66 apartment complexes in San Diego for more than $1 billion

Private equity giant Blackstone Group plans to purchase 66 residential complexes in San Diego County for more than $1 billion in one of the biggest real estate transactions in local history. New Yo…

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

And RFK Jr.’s dimmest brain worm has entered the chat.

 

[Johnnyrocket891]

And RFK Jr.’s dimmest brain worm has entered the chat.

Why even reply if you cannot back your statement with facts or data.

Watching our country's freedom erode and be destroyed by a bunch of entitled billionaires and politicians who would never serve the front lines to protect our freedoms is sickening. Looting the country into bankruptcy along with the record numbers of American Homelessness across the country says it all.

You cannot hide behind 35 Trillion dollars in National Debt now. Congress, House and Presidents need to be held accountable for allowing this.

 

[Smuttynose]

I think we tend to get very distracted by the number of affordable or income-restricted units we build. 'More affordable housing!' is a mantra that politicians latch on to. But according to the City, Boston has the highest share, by far, of income-restricted housing of any major city in the country. The table below is from 2020 and says that 17 percent of housing in Boston is income-restricted and the City thinks the real number is closer was 20%. In Houston and Dallas, by contrast, between 2-4% of the housing units are income-restricted. But nobody says "Boston's housing market is affordable - look at all the affordable housing units they have!" Cities like Dallas and Houston have much more affordable housing markets because they build much more housing, not income-restricted housing, but housing in general, housing of all types. This is a problem that we tend to over-complicate; it is mostly just a supply problem.

 

[KCasiglio]

Would there really be a shortage of housing if the corporations/hedgefunds/College institutions were not allowed to buy housing in residential areas?

You're conflating symptom with cause. This is no different than the people who say new development is the cause of increasing prices.

 

[sean99090900]

I think we tend to get very distracted by the number of affordable or income-restricted units we build. 'More affordable housing!' is a mantra that politicians latch on to. But according to the City, Boston has the highest share, by far, of income-restricted housing of any major city in the country. The table below is from 2020 and says that 17 percent of housing in Boston is income-restricted and the City thinks the real number is closer was 20%. In Houston and Dallas, by contrast, between 2-4% of the housing units are income-restricted. But nobody says "Boston's housing market is affordable - look at all the affordable housing units they have!" Cities like Dallas and Houston have much more affordable housing markets because they build much more housing, not income-restricted housing, but housing in general, housing of all types. This is a problem that we tend to over-complicate; it is mostly just a supply problem.

View attachment 54286

I think the economic problem is indeed pretty clear, but the problem of political economy is almost intractably complicated with the concentration of highly educated and civically engaged people that have an interest in high home prices and attachment to the past.

I didn't know we were an outlier in this metric. I think there are a lot of renters/transient folks that are sucked into this misunderstanding of the problem and I think it's good that people know these figures when the topic of income restricted housing comes up.

 

[MrDee12345]

What if public housing were for everyone?​

Local governments are trying a new way to address the housing crisis.

“Quietly and with little fanfare, the idea of building new publicly owned housing for people across the income spectrum has advanced in the United States.

Governments have successfully addressed housing shortages through publicly developed housing in places like Vienna, Finland, and Singapore in the past, but these examples have typically inspired little attention in the US — which has more restrictive welfare policies and a bias toward private homeownership.

Then one US community started exploring social housing with a markedly more American twist: Leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland — a suburban region just outside Washington, DC, with more than 1 million residents — said they could increase their local housing supply not by ramping up European-style welfare subsidies but through essentially intervening in the traditional capitalist bidding process. Government, when it wants to, can make attractive bids.

Now, with an acute nationwide housing shortage, and declining home construction due to high interest rates, the idea is spreading, and more local officials have been moving forward with plans to create publicly owned housing. They are very clear about not calling it “public housing”: To help differentiate these projects from the typical stigmatized, income-restricted, and underfunded model, leaders have coalesced around calling the mixed-income idea “social housing” produced by “public developers.”…..….”

https://www.vox.com/policy/2024/2/10/24065342/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis

As a fairly regular visitor to Singapore, I think we can use the city-state as a model for both public and private housing.

Outside of the central business district in Singapore, you see a lot of bland housing blocks that are mostly publicly owned and run. They're boxy, they often have big numbers on the side to differentiate them between other buildings in the area, they're clean (although that's cultural because the same buildings in Kuala Lumpur look trashed) and they seem to provide the necessary space to raise a family in a low-income area. What I especially like about them is that tend to have several apartment blocks and in the middle there's a community center and places for recreation. Not a amazing, but adequate.

I don't know why the Boston area doesn't approve more "ok" buildings units, whether they're public or privately built. We don't need luxury, but what we do need is three bedroom apartments/apartment-condos where you can raise a family on a lower income. Not the crappy projects. Not luxury. Just adequate.

 

[Justbuildit]

Everett is building a million boring 5 over 1s and doing it at impressive speed. Fully agree that more 3-4 bedroom units are needed but we have the “fast and cheap” solution already in our hands. A lot of the “housing is too expensive!” crowd also hate these buildings, though, so the aesthetic headwinds are real.

 

[sean99090900]

As a fairly regular visitor to Singapore, I think we can use the city-state as a model for both public and private housing.

Outside of the central business district in Singapore, you see a lot of bland housing blocks that are mostly publicly owned and run. They're boxy, they often have big numbers on the side to differentiate them between other buildings in the area, they're clean (although that's cultural because the same buildings in Kuala Lumpur look trashed) and they seem to provide the necessary space to raise a family in a low-income area. What I especially like about them is that tend to have several apartment blocks and in the middle there's a community center and places for recreation. Not a amazing, but adequate.

I don't know why the Boston area doesn't approve more "ok" buildings units, whether they're public or privately built. We don't need luxury, but what we do need is three bedroom apartments/apartment-condos where you can raise a family on a lower income. Not the crappy projects. Not luxury. Just adequate.

There are a number of reasons I think public housing is a poor solution to our problems here in Massachusetts.

1. The primary association voters have with public housing is not clean and well-run Singapore but criminality and communists. There would need to be a titanic political effort to push anything at scale through and I am not sure that is the best use of political capital. It would have all the "downsides" of private development (increased supply, construction, change to historic neighborhoods, poor people moving in) with the additional point that now the voters have to pay for it as well as put up with "inconveniences".
2. The (economic) opportunity cost associated with public housing is also huge. There are any number of things that the state can spend its resources on, some things like housing have viable market solutions and some things like public transit do not. Focusing state resources on a problem that the market can probably do a great bit to solve means we have less money to spend on the things that government is uniquely capable of providing.

From the article:

Now, with an acute nationwide housing shortage, and declining home construction due to high interest rates, the idea is spreading, and more local officials have been moving forward with plans to create publicly owned housing. They are very clear about not calling it “public housing”: To help differentiate these projects from the typical stigmatized, income-restricted, and underfunded model, leaders have coalesced around calling the mixed-income idea “social housing” produced by “public developers.”…..….”

I am skeptical that renaming the program will have much of the rebranding effect that these people want. If the underlying attitudes towards public housing haven't changed, the negative associations will agglomerate on 'social housing' instead of housing projects the same way that the shift in terminology from bum>homeless>unhoused>those experiencing housing insecurity need to continue evolving because the negative associations catch up with each new term.

 

[HenryAlan]

You answered what costs were increasing but not why they were increasing relative to student population or other districts. Overall, there is a bloat in administrators and cost of education that is laughable. No accountability at the city level. And the education is generally below average for above average cost.

I mean, it's kind of implied, don't you think? More SPED students means more cost. The population of SPED students in Boston is growing, therefore the costs are growing.

 

[HenryAlan]

I think we tend to get very distracted by the number of affordable or income-restricted units we build. 'More affordable housing!' is a mantra that politicians latch on to. But according to the City, Boston has the highest share, by far, of income-restricted housing of any major city in the country. The table below is from 2020 and says that 17 percent of housing in Boston is income-restricted and the City thinks the real number is closer was 20%. In Houston and Dallas, by contrast, between 2-4% of the housing units are income-restricted. But nobody says "Boston's housing market is affordable - look at all the affordable housing units they have!" Cities like Dallas and Houston have much more affordable housing markets because they build much more housing, not income-restricted housing, but housing in general, housing of all types. This is a problem that we tend to over-complicate; it is mostly just a supply problem.

View attachment 54286

Could that be a chicken and egg question, though? Might cities with less expensive housing (for multiple, complex reasons), not bother with income restricted housing because they don't need it? Also, I'm not sure we really want to use places like Dallas as the model. Do we really want lower income people to deal with 2+ hour commutes by pushing affordable market rate units further and further from the core?

 

[Johnnyrocket891]

Boston will never address the housing crisis now.

The housing affordability comes down to supply vs demand.
All the state govt has to do is build a strong infrastructure collaboration with transit system from the North/West/South. A Transit connection that can get large groups in and out of Boston in 5-10Mins.
Then just build massive box developments for housing 200K in each direction on those access lines. This would bring down the rents dramatically.

The problem is the corporations and the banker bailouts depend on housing to to inflate or maintain their high valuations if not those institutional loans become JUNK. Worthless.

The politicians don't want to solve the problem

 

[Stlin]

Could that be a chicken and egg question, though? Might cities with less expensive housing (for multiple, complex reasons), not bother with income restricted housing because they don't need it? Also, I'm not sure we really want to use places like Dallas as the model. Do we really want lower income people to deal with 2+ hour commutes by pushing affordable market rate units further and further from the core?

Since I'm currently sitting in the middle of Downtown Dallas, I feel qualified to comment as someone who decided to check Zillow a couple of hours ago. Within a roughly 2 mile circle from ATT Discovery Plaza, there's plenty of reasonable looking <1k 1 bed/studios in East Dallas, and plenty of 2 beds under 1.2k within the same.

Keeping in mind that 30% of 80% Dallas AFMI would represent ~1.6k for a 1 person houshold, at that price point there's plenty of newer construction 1 beds available in downtown proper, and a decent number of older but still reasonable 2 beds. With sufficient supply, there's no reason for housing authorities to push affordable restrictions since many things are renting below the limits HUD sets already. Thus, no real reason that cheap units need to be far from the core.

 

[MrDee12345]

Everett is building a million boring 5 over 1s and doing it at impressive speed. Fully agree that more 3-4 bedroom units are needed but we have the “fast and cheap” solution already in our hands. A lot of the “housing is too expensive!” crowd also hate these buildings, though, so the aesthetic headwinds are real.

And that's fine. I like good architecture - and the there's no shortage of good architecture around the Boston area.

But I also like affordability, and it would be nice to see move of these 5 over 1s to add density to places outside of city centers.

 

[Justbuildit]

Yes, that’s my point. If we want to actually build more housing we have all the tools we need. It’s a question of a little political will and ignoring people who make arguments on vibes.