Future of Boston Metro - Urbanism, Econ, Public Policy

underground said:
A lot of uber rich actually prefer renting. Short term and high end, renting is usually a lot cheaper than buying, and the money saved will have a higher rate of return in the stock market rather than the housing market.
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If this were true, then they wouldn't be buying property all over the world to put their money into as a relatively conservative, safe asset.


The question is, how does Boston figure out a way to find a balance between keeping rents low enough so it doesn't drive out the talented people-particular those young, bright college kids you want to keep here to help build the next tech giants, research and practice the new breakthrough in medicine, be a scholarly academic at one of the area's universities.
 
Well, first of all, it is true; you can look it up easy enough. Second of all, there's a difference between renting short term to live in and buying long term as an investment. And of course, investment strategies change in the short term as the housing and stock markets change.
 
Oakley said:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma.../story.html?p1=Topopage:Test_B:sub_headline_3

Measure to allow alcohol to be served later nixed for this year.
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Similar to the mayor of Port Jervis, NY marrying gay couples years ago despite no legal authority to do so by the state, what would realistically happen if the city of Boston just started issuing licences with later closing times? Does anyone think the state would actually forcibly act, withhold funds, or some other means to force compliance, or would they just deal with it?
 
They might fine them? If I'm the owner of a bar, I'm not risking fines in the thousands of dollar range.
 
Yes. The solution to Boston's housing conundrum is being made in Somerville. Mayor Walsh should take notes from Mayor Curtatone.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...-that-could/1e287zFYLmzpZG4i2TjvQJ/story.html

Boston needs ideas — from Somerville

By Paul McMorrow | GLOBE COLUMNIST JULY 01, 2014

SOMERVILLE HAS no right being as hot as it is right now. The city is tiny, boasting less than one-tenth the land area of Boston. And what little land Somerville does have looks like much of Boston. It’s a city of neighborhood squares and triple-deckers, of narrow streets, and of industrial lots decades past their prime. That’s a common inheritance in and around Boston, but Somerville has parlayed it into two separate billion-dollar real-estate-development initiatives, one in Assembly Square, one in Union Square.

So the four-square-mile city is punching far above its weight right now. That’s because Somerville knows that standing still isn’t an option. The city realizes change is coming, one way or another, so civic leaders have rolled up their sleeves to make that change work for Somerville.........
 
Good! Capitalism at work.

Hopefully this will spur developers to build more units that are geared towards the wealthy, but not uber-wealthy.

If we can get new construction geared towards households that make $100,000-$150,000/year, that will do wonders to open up older units for lower- and middle-class renters.
 
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