Addressing the nationwide housing crisis

An interesting video I was recommended that talks about how canada dealt with its housing crisis after ww2. Apparently they hired a bunch of architects and developers to create a few standardized designs of housing that met the building codes that could be selected from and then built. Like heres 5 apartment buildings, 5 duplexes, and 5 single family home designs to choose from, choose one for your application and build it. Many houses were built in 36 hours. It talks about some of the problems that are in the way of doing something like this today, but what we could try to do to get closer to being able to do something like this. Canada and the us are not the same, but theyre close enough that I think its worth a watch.

 
stick n move said:
An interesting video I was recommended that talks about how canada dealt with its housing crisis after ww2. Apparently they hired a bunch of architects and developers to create a few standardized designs of housing that met the building codes that could be selected from and then built. Like heres 5 apartment buildings, 5 duplexes, and 5 single family home designs to choose from, choose one for your application and build it. Many houses were built in 36 hours. It talks about some of the problems that are in the way of doing something like this today, but what we could try to do to get closer to being able to do something like this. Canada and the us are not the same, but theyre close enough that I think its worth a watch.

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I can't remember the exact city, but one muni came up with pre-approved designs. If you stuck with them, you got an expedited permitting process because the city was the one who originated the design.
 
stick n move said:
An interesting video I was recommended that talks about how canada dealt with its housing crisis after ww2. Apparently they hired a bunch of architects and developers to create a few standardized designs of housing that met the building codes that could be selected from and then built. Like heres 5 apartment buildings, 5 duplexes, and 5 single family home designs to choose from, choose one for your application and build it. Many houses were built in 36 hours. It talks about some of the problems that are in the way of doing something like this today, but what we could try to do to get closer to being able to do something like this. Canada and the us are not the same, but theyre close enough that I think its worth a watch.

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Interesting I posted this before because it looks like Boston is now toying around with a similar idea for starter homes in boston.

 
Cambridge is pretty close to effectively eliminating single-family zoning mandates citywide after yesterday's council vote. The zoning change will become effective

bankerandtradesman.com

Cambridge Councilors Back 4-Story Zoning Citywide

Cambridge City Councilors are set to back a landmark change eliminating single-family zoning to boost housing production across the city after a preliminary vote yesterday.
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

In a compromise that gained support in recent weeks, the rezoning would allow 4-story residential buildings citywide, and 6-story buildings on lots that total at least 5,000 square feet. The council’s vote Monday would become final at the board’s Feb. 4 meeting, under the board’s parliamentary rules.
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“Even though this proposal is not going to be a silver bullet, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Ned Melanson, a Cambridge-based lawyer who cited experiences representing disabled clients facing eviction.
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This is on my bingo card for all urban areas. Given some of the grand single families near Mt Auburn/along Brattle, I'm going to be very curious to see how this lands across the city. Positive outcome for sure, wish Boston would take even the first step and eliminate parking minima city-wide, let along go after single-family zoning.
 
Banker & Tradesman said:
Cambridge is pretty close to effectively eliminating single-family zoning mandates citywide after yesterday's council vote. The zoning change will become effective

bankerandtradesman.com

Cambridge Councilors Back 4-Story Zoning Citywide

Cambridge City Councilors are set to back a landmark change eliminating single-family zoning to boost housing production across the city after a preliminary vote yesterday.
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com
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Very good step in the right direction. Were really at the very beginning of the process, but as more and more of these wins stack up it will start compounding. Elimination of single family only zoning in cambridge, allowing 4-6 story buildings citywide, the mbta communities act statewide, the adu law…etc. These are all just getting rolling, but its going to start picking up momentum from here. Now is the time to keep the pedal to the metal and keep the changes coming as much as possible in as many places. In a few years from now hopefully were going to look back at this time as an absolutely critical period in reforming and reshaping the state into a much better place to live. In 30 years the people of Ma are going to be extremely greatful for the work people are doing right now!
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1887154579092984172


An article I found with more info:

Portland sees growth in middle housing, adds 1,400 units, progress report says​


“PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland has seen a “significant” increase in middle-housing development after zoning updates were implemented, according to a progress report released by the City of Portland on Tuesday.

The report tracked middle housing production – including homes such as Accessory Dwelling Units, duplexes, triplexes, four-plexes and cottage clusters – after the city adopted regulations known as the Residential Infill Project (RIP), along with RIP Part 2.

The RIP project was adopted by City Council in 2021 before expanding to RIP2 in 2022 as a way to address rising housing costs by allowing multiple smaller homes on single dwelling lots at lower prices.

According to the report, these policies have accelerated housing development in single-dwelling residential zones – leading the city to permit 1,400 ADUs and middle housing units between August 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024……..”


“According to the city, the average sales price for a new market-rate middle-housing unit was $250,000-$300,000 less than a new market-rate single detached house.”


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ko...ing-adds-1400-units-progress-report-says/amp/


With reverse image search I was able to find the properties address and check it out on google earth. Youve got 4 houses built on the equivalent of 2 lots. So youre building twice as many houses which are half size so in theory they should be 50% less cost. Builders are not going to just build cheaper houses for the hell of it, but if they can squeeze 4 houses into the space of 2 and charge the same or a bit more total amount for the 4 houses as they did for 2, then theyll do it. Instead of selling 2 houses for 500,000 each and grossing a million they could sell 4 250,000 dollar houses for a million. Or since theres a bit more work say 4 houses for 300,000 each and making a million 200 thousand dollars. In that scenario 4 people get reasonably affordable houses and the builder comes away with a bit extra as well and everyone wins. Plenty of people out there are single or dont need a ton of room and these would be just fine. Hopefully a lot more examples like this can come about, because it can definitely be one of the answers.

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Also portland is very lucky that they built their suburbs on a street grid, because its sooo much easier to densify and fix suburbs like this compared to the normal sprawling discconnected crap we see so often. I think they also brought up a good point that this type of building wont freak out the nimbys as much because it blends right in to the neighborhood. I think this is one good solution out of many.
 
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Wondering when it's thought that the boomers selling off their homes is likely to start impact the housing market. I haven't hear much about this, but after ducking into the Whole Foods on Beacon St in Newton and just looking around and I was the youngest person there by decades, it really hammered home the fact that huge swaths of housing stuck are tied up in a generation that is already starting to die off. Any theories out there as to how this is going to play out locally in terms of affecting housing markets etc?
 
A commission appointed by Gov. Maura Healey is out today with a hefty list of ideas for increasing housing production across Massachusetts.

Our overview:
bankerandtradesman.com

Healey Housing Panel Backs Two-Family Zoning Statewide

Massachusetts should allow two-family construction and eliminate minimum parking requirements for residential construction, according to a panel advising the Healey administration on real estate policy.
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

The Globe's overview:
www.bostonglobe.com

State commission on housing production targets single-family zoning, other sweeping reforms - The Boston Globe

A state housing commission recommended Massachusetts undergo a full-scale rethinking of how homes in the state, both market-rate and affordable, are built and maintained.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

The full 108-page report: https://www.mass.gov/doc/building-f...m-the-unlocking-housing-production-commission

There are dozens of ideas in there, some that need legislators to get on board, some that the Healey administration could do on its own, but the biggest ones we saw were, in order:
  1. Legislation to legalize two-family construction statewide, and four-family construction on lots that have water and sewer service.
  2. Legislation to eliminate parking mandates statewide (current MAPC estimate is they cost $15,000 per space for surface parking, $40,000 per space for above-ground structured parking – as in a covered garage on a building’s first floor – and $80,000 per space for underground parking)
  3. Update the state building code to allow up to 24 units and 6-story buildings with single stairways. The current code limits single-staircase buildings to 12 units and 3 stories, but last fall's big Utile/Harvard JCHS report estimated a reform like this could unlock ~130,000 homes near MBTA subway stops.
  4. Legislation to eliminate minimum lot sizes statewide, except in environmentally sensitive areas, subject to building, health and safety regulations, to make it easier to build those two- and four-family projects, as well as single-family starter homes.
  5. State subsidies for private water and sewage treatment systems, and a program enabling developers to connect extensions to existing sewer systems, to unlock development sites in areas like the Cape that are mostly on septic systems.
  6. Streamline the Chapter 40B appeals process and bulk up the Housing Appeals Committee staff to cut the time that it takes to get the committee to rule on developments (currently it can take a year or more).
  7. Massachusetts building codes currently trigger more costly standards when projects exceed 50 percent of the building’s value, making some projects infeasible. A new separate building code for residential renovation projects should replace the “all-or-nothing” 50percent threshold, the report said.
 
Wow eliminating parking minimums, allowing single stair construction, and eliminating minimum lot sizes alone would have a masssssive effect. Combine that with the mbta communities law, adu law, and I saw in another thread a proposal to eliminate single family only zoning and theyre really looking at all the right solutions. .
 
Banker & Tradesman said:
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7. Massachusetts building codes currently trigger more costly standards when projects exceed 50 percent of the building’s value, making some projects infeasible. A new separate building code for residential renovation projects should replace the “all-or-nothing” 50percent threshold, the report said.
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^Sweet, this is what y'all are tired of me harping on in like a dozen thread in aB
 
stick n move said:
Wow eliminating parking minimums, allowing single stair construction, and eliminating minimum lot sizes alone would have a masssssive effect. Combine that with the mbta communities law, adu law, and I saw in another thread a proposal to eliminate single family only zoning and theyre really looking at all the right solutions. .
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This report (which included both the single family preemption and the other recommendations listed) reads like an aB wishlist, I'm shocked after how much the transportation funding commission was kneecapped
 
KCasiglio said:
This report (which included both the single family preemption and the other recommendations listed) reads like an aB wishlist, I'm shocked after how much the transportation funding commission was kneecapped
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My low-information speculation is that Healy sees zoning reform to be publicly palatable, but sees a radical increase in the cost of driving as political suicide. I am all for making drivers pay for their externalities, but I also respect Democrats' need (particularly since Trump's election) to avoid pushing legislation & policies that would get them swiftly voted out in favor of a Baker-esque Republican who would really send us in an anti-urbanist direction.
 
kdmc said:
My low-information speculation is that Healy sees zoning reform to be publicly palatable, but sees a radical increase in the cost of driving as political suicide. I am all for making drivers pay for their externalities, but I also respect Democrats' need (particularly since Trump's election) to avoid pushing legislation & policies that would get them swiftly voted out in favor of a Baker-esque Republican who would really send us in an anti-urbanist direction.
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Perhaps! It's a surprising calculation to me after how much the MBTA communities act has been a battle. To follow that up with state wide preemption of single family zoning would, I'd think, be politically toxic. Maybe some of the other reforms could get by though as they're pretty arcane for the average person.
 

Austin Rents Tumble 22% From Peak on Massive Home Building Spree​

“One tenant got two months free, $600 credit for signing lease as deals abound”
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“Yasmine Acebo makes her living by hooking up renters with deals on Austin apartments. In recent months, they haven’t been hard to find.

In the midst of a pandemic-era population surge, rents jumped a staggering 25% in 2021 in the Texas capital for one of the biggest increases in the nation. But a development boom and new policies encouraging housing density have sent vacancy rates soaring. Now, landlords are struggling to fill gleaming new developments and offering major discounts to lure newly empowered renters.

“Nearly all apartments in Austin are doing some sort of specials for move-ins,” said Acebo, an agent with Pauly Presley Realty. One recent example: a client was searching for a one-bedroom apartment in South Austin and settled on a unit at Perch Apartments about 20 minutes from downtown. It normally would have cost $1,420 per month, but in return for applying the day after her visit and leasing at least 13 months, she received two months free rent, a waived administration fee and a $600 credit.

“It was inevitable once you noticed how many apartments were going up,” Acebo said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...ve-home-building-spree?leadSource=reddit_wall
 
stick n move said:

Austin Rents Tumble 22% From Peak on Massive Home Building Spree​

“One tenant got two months free, $600 credit for signing lease as deals abound”
1200x800.webp


“Yasmine Acebo makes her living by hooking up renters with deals on Austin apartments. In recent months, they haven’t been hard to find.

In the midst of a pandemic-era population surge, rents jumped a staggering 25% in 2021 in the Texas capital for one of the biggest increases in the nation. But a development boom and new policies encouraging housing density have sent vacancy rates soaring. Now, landlords are struggling to fill gleaming new developments and offering major discounts to lure newly empowered renters.

“Nearly all apartments in Austin are doing some sort of specials for move-ins,” said Acebo, an agent with Pauly Presley Realty. One recent example: a client was searching for a one-bedroom apartment in South Austin and settled on a unit at Perch Apartments about 20 minutes from downtown. It normally would have cost $1,420 per month, but in return for applying the day after her visit and leasing at least 13 months, she received two months free rent, a waived administration fee and a $600 credit.

“It was inevitable once you noticed how many apartments were going up,” Acebo said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...ve-home-building-spree?leadSource=reddit_wall
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I'm so happy for them. I've had a lot of conversations with folks that work in transportation in Austin, and those are usually filled with lamentations about how limited they are by their state and the suburb dominated MPO. Here's a moment where I get to be incredibly jealous of them.

Also, bookmarking the F out of this. If I have to hear one more left-NIMBY say supply has no impact on prices I may lose it. $1,420 with two months and a $600 credit, to live in...what would the Boston equivalent be? Porter Square? Andrew? Allston? I haven't seen prices like that here without the discount since the early 2010s
 
Banker & Tradesman said:
  1. Legislation to eliminate minimum lot sizes statewide, except in environmentally sensitive areas, subject to building, health and safety regulations, to make it easier to build those two- and four-family projects, as well as single-family starter homes.
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Thank God for this one. I was really getting down on Harley for doing next to nothing on housing during her tenure (and for supporting mass deportation). I’ll believe it when I see it, but this report is at least something nice to chew on and a step in the right direction.

KCasiglio said:
left-NIMBY
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An oxymoron.
 
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