America's future depends on the death of the single-family home

[SZonian]

One hallmark of the American Dream — the single-family home — is dying as we know it.

And it's for good reason: The US needs more affordable housing.

"Around the country, many fast-growing metropolitan areas are facing a brutal shortage of affordable places to live, leading to gentrification, homelessness, even disease," Conor Dougherty writes in The New York Times.

The solution has long been to build upwards, erecting cheap condos and apartments in urban centers. But construction can no longer keep up with demand in many metros, so city planners are looking to single-family neighborhoods, valuable for their sprawl and low-density, for space to build out. 

"It's an enormous problem, and it impacts the very course of America's future," Edward Glaeser, an economist at Harvard who studies cities,  told the Times.


http://www.businessinsider.com/us-housing-crisis-homeownership-single-family-home-2017-12

[driftdiver]

80% of the South Korean population rides the elevator to work.

[Frank Cannon]

"Around the country, many fast-growing metropolitan areas are facing a brutal shortage of affordable places to live, leading to gentrification, homelessness, even disease,"

This is because the cost of the massive govt' in these areas are hidden in the cost of housing.

BTW this nonsense about making everyone live in Soviet style tenements is nothing new. It's been a dream of the Left for half a century. It's a great way to control peoples lives.

[driftdiver]

"Around the country, many fast-growing metropolitan areas are facing a brutal shortage of affordable places to live, leading to gentrification, homelessness, even disease,"

This is because the cost of the massive govt' in these areas are hidden in the cost of housing.

BTW this nonsense about making everyone live in Soviet style tenements is nothing new. It's been a dream of the Left for half a century. It's a great way to control peoples lives.

all true, but they are making  progress.   50 years ago nobody would have believed it possible

They are building 20,000 new single family homes within a 5 mile radius of my house.    traffic is a nightmare already and it will get worse.   Unless you want to commute >90min each way the only choice will be to spend $1million or go for a townhouse/condo for 300-500k

[truth_seeker]

all true, but they are making  progress.   50 years ago nobody would have believed it possible

They are building 20,000 new single family homes within a 5 mile radius of my house.    traffic is a nightmare already and it will get worse.   Unless you want to commute >90min each way the only choice will be to spend $1million or go for a townhouse/condo for 300-500k

That indicates you live in what many consider a very desirable place. Buy the worst home, in the best area you can afford. Stay, add, improve, enjoy.

[driftdiver]

That indicates you live in what many consider a very desirable place. Buy the worst home, in the best area you can afford. Stay, add, improve, enjoy.

Id rather a cabin in the mountains with a herd of goats

[roamer_1]

I can't understand how anyone would live that way.
I would literally rather be homeless and live in a tent.

[mirraflake]

I live in a planned community of 8-15 acre  horse mini farms. My wife and I have both said in our lifetime the gov't will say we have more land than our fair share and will put other people on it or tax us to death.

Our property tax is already approaching $10k per year.

[thackney]

I live in a planned community of 8-15 acre  horse mini farms. My wife and I have both said in our lifetime the gov't will say we have more land than our fair share and will put other people on it or tax us to death.

Our property tax is already approaching $10k per year.

We have that type development across the street.  On my side, unrestricted.  So putting some cows in the field allows an Ag Exemption for Property Taxes and my kids can still ride the horses around.  Keep a few acres out of the Ag Exempt so there is no argument over the riding arena.

[mirraflake]

We have that type development across the street.  On my side, unrestricted.  So putting some cows in the field allows an Ag Exemption for Property Taxes and my kids can still ride the horses around.  Keep a few acres out of the Ag Exempt so there is no argument over the riding arena.

We can have 100 horses on our property but no cows. We can have an exemption but  must have 10+ acres (we have 12.5) but out state is cracking down. Must show an annual profit of $1000 of either crop or animals sales and I heard they are going to raise it up.

@thackney

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

We can have 100 horses on our property but no cows. We can have an exemption but  must have 10+ acres (we have 12.5) but out state is cracking down. Must show an annual profit of $1000 of either crop or animals sales and I heard they are going to raise it up.

@thackney

Can you sell crops to yourself?  IOW, count the value of the money saved by eating from your garden as income?

[dfwgator]

! No longer available

[Fishrrman]

"America's future depends on the death of the single-family home..."

Agenda 21.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Americans, most of them, will never want to live in vertical beehives. It's against our very nature and we still have a lower population per square mile than most other industrialization nations.

[The_Reader_David]

More urbanite nonsense.  Some of ideas that pass for "enlightened" on the left are things that make sense in the context of NYC or LA population densities, but are positively delusional out here in the Great Plains or in the Intermountain West.  Light rail, electric cars, the position of this article...

(Of course then there are the other ideas on the left that are baleful wherever they are applied.)

[Victoria33]

They are building 20,000 new single family homes within a 5 mile radius of my house.    traffic is a nightmare already and it will get worse.   Unless you want to commute >90min each way the only choice will be to spend $1million or go for a townhouse/condo for 300-500k

@driftdiver

This is an upscale area and there is little room for more million dollar houses now - a one bedroom apartment is over $1,000 a month, two bedrooms over $2,000, and condos/townhouses to buy are over $300,000.  Houses over 30 yrs. old, sell for over $300,000.  Construction of these apts./townhouses/condos is everywhere.  Yes, traffic is bad.

[Oceander]

Sounds like someone whose only experience with suburbs is the congested parts of Nassau County on Long Island and The NJ suburbs that serve NYC.

Otherwise, the idiot doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Smokin Joe]

"America's future depends on the death of the single-family home..."

Agenda 21.

Yep.