(CP from P&N) NYT: In Many Cities, Rent Is Rising Out of Reach of Middle Class

[Blackjack200]

Hope the mods don't mind the crosspost, I thought this was apartisan enough to survive in P&N, but of course I was wrong. 20 posts in and it's an abject shit show.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/b...30-affordability-ratio-unattainable.html?_r=0


Quote:
Nationally, half of all renters are now spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to a comprehensive Harvard study, up from 38 percent of renters in 2000. In December, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan declared “the worst rental affordability crisis that this country has ever known.”

Just thought this was interesting, potentially a consequence of the growing rift between the wealthy and everyone else.

I make a salary considerably above the median wage in my city and I live in a small apartment that I share with another guy (a lawyer), in a cheaper part of the city. There are certainly people who make what I make and live in more expensive housing, choosing to be "apartment poor" I guess.

I also own three modest houses (~1,000 sq. ft. apiece), and there are a total of 18 people living in them, spread across six nuclear families. Each of these households has multiple wage earners. (None are section 8, although I'm sure there's government assistance going on in some way).

I'm not groussing or complaining or anything, I just see this as a quiet way the middle and working classes are adjusting to the new reality.

 

[smackababy]

I am not entirely convinced this is a crisis. Demand for these types of apartments is high (especially during the summer months), so they are going to continue to raise the prices until they can't rent the unit. It only makes sense for the owner to charge as much as possible. I know it sucks for consumers, but that is the way it is.

And, the people in the article are bordering near poverty. $41,000 a year isn't exactly high living. Taking that into account with our culture of the middle class loving to live beyond their means, it isn't a surprise more people are spending a higher percentage of their income on rent. It might not even be that rent has gone up, just the percentage people are willing to allocate to such has. And, then look at things like location and convenience and it becomes clear that priorities might have shifted, not entirely related to the market.

I just moved in January to a new condo. I am paying about 140% of what I was paying before for a slightly larger place. And I am perfectly fine with that because the location is much better, the parking is nicer, and it has a few things I wanted. Now, the difference was something like 10% of my income for rent to a bit over 15%. And that is only counting my income, not my GFs. Granted, I don't make $41,000 a year.

 

[Murloc]

that's a problem also here in certain areas. It's been years of luxury apartment building craze.
They say there may be a soft landing so it will adjust partially, but it's still a bunch of luxury apartments.

It's a fact that it pushes the lower classes towards the periphery. But that's normal in most big cities so... it sucks but it's how it is. If urban public transport becomes better it's not that much of a problem, otherwise it really is. Now you can get with the train to the city but moving inside the cities on buses is a traffic nightmare so you're either in walking distance or you're screwed and will spend your free time in traffic.

 

[smackababy]

The "lower classes" being pushed outside of the cities isn't really a concenious effort in my opinion. The supply of real estate, both commercial and residential will be at a much lower supply inside the city than on the outskirts. That simply means the price will adjust with demand, and be more expensive.

 

[Kadarin]

Posting this link to have it available in this thread: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/sf-housing/

Everything you ever wanted to know about the San Francisco housing situation, in a lot of detail.