#housing #AffordableHousing #ExpensiveHousing #RecyclingProperty
It seems in many places, particularly fast-growing areas, they can’t build enough housing.
We are seeing apartments, or condos, being built next to big shopping areas, usually in commercially zoned areas and not for residences. If shopping traffic weren’t enough, residents now have to navigate streets around supermarkets and other retail outlets.
These apartments or condos are convenient, since residents can walk to the store(s), restaurants etc. But, would you want your outside balcony overlooking streets clogged with shopping traffic? Do you want to breathe that smoggy air every nice, summer night?
If you have to travel to work, how long will it take you to get out of these clogged streets, or back in when you come home? In short, say, a five-mile commute could take you 45 minutes or an hour, because of traffic.
In another housing area, cities are constructing housing units from old shipping containers. Yes, these are small, cramped units, but if they can keep people from living on the street, who cares?
The key to housing is affordability. Million-dollar homes are being built in places that were designed for the working-class buyer.
Can that be sustained in the long term?
Developers are working on building more affordable houses, apartments and condos. But, with the ever-increasing cost of materials, there is only so low their prices can go.
As more people are working from home, many downtown office buildings are seeing vacancies on a large scale.
New office space is attractive to expanding businesses, so these businesses will leave older office space in favor of new.
Some cities are looking at converting these old office buildings into affordable apartments, but that may be easier said than done.
Will the owners of that old office space accept lower rent for an apartment, vs. an office? Yes, occupancy is almost always better than vacancy, but can these office developers sustain their property values if these buildings suddenly become residences? The financial performance of these office developers, and their investors, could be greatly affected.
Can, and will, governments subsidize these office-to-apartment conversions over the long haul?
Will the occupants of these units require the kind of property management the offices did?
All these questions tell us of a housing market in flux. Rents, selling prices and other housing costs have gone through the roof. Many people elect to live on the street because they cannot afford rent.
Young, growing families are forgoing, or postponing, buying starter homes because they cannot afford the steep prices. Plus, they face competition from investors with wads of cash to buy houses outright, with no mortgage.
Housing is a finite commodity. There is only so much land, and only so many builders out there.
Innovators are working diligently to come up with ways to recycle properties no longer being used as originally intended.
Let’s hope all concerned can create an equilibrium in the housing market fairly soon.
Peter