The housing market needs more condos

I think people think they don’t like condos. I currently live in a condo I own and while not without challenges overall I like it. I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas. In Seattle there are a ton for town homes being built, split lot and connected, most without any hoa. When they need work I bet you’ll see a lot of neighbors suing neighbors to fix and replace shared elements. I would never move into shared living space that didn’t have some sort of hoa to manage any the shared space.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#5

Post by twalla » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:37 PM UTC

A lot of people have a big chunk of their net worth tied up into home equity because it's sort of the "ordained" path to building wealth for the middle class - condos don't see similar appreciation, get hit harder in downturns and are one of the last types of properties to recover in value afterwards.

Start incentivizing treating housing as, you know, a place to live rather than a financial instrument and you'll see plenty more condos.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#6

Post by mdorazio » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:39 PM UTC

thisrobot wrote: post #4

more_corn wrote: post #3

Because people don’t Like condos?

I think people think they don’t like condos. I currently live in a condo I own and while not without challenges overall I like it. I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas. In Seattle there are a ton for town homes being built, split lot and connected, most without any hoa. When they need work I bet you’ll see a lot of neighbors suing neighbors to fix and replace shared elements. I would never move into sha…

Do you have kids? Among my friends group there was a very stark change in home-type preference between when people were childless and when they had kids.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#7

Post by dvtrn » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:42 PM UTC

thisrobot wrote: post #4

more_corn wrote: post #3

Because people don’t Like condos?

I think people think they don’t like condos. I currently live in a condo I own and while not without challenges overall I like it. I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas. In Seattle there are a ton for town homes being built, split lot and connected, most without any hoa. When they need work I bet you’ll see a lot of neighbors suing neighbors to fix and replace shared elements. I would never move into sha…

I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas

I dunno, while I'm in no real rush to paint them all with a broad brush, there's certainly some validity to the some of the ire towards HOAs that the HOAs themselves rightly earned. The one I'm under certainly has. They wont be missed.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#8

Post by bozhark » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:42 PM UTC

thisrobot wrote: post #4

more_corn wrote: post #3

Because people don’t Like condos?

I think people think they don’t like condos. I currently live in a condo I own and while not without challenges overall I like it. I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas. In Seattle there are a ton for town homes being built, split lot and connected, most without any hoa. When they need work I bet you’ll see a lot of neighbors suing neighbors to fix and replace shared elements. I would never move into sha…

Moved into a condo in the area last April. The water line is not only shared, but they had been piping hot water to their fridge line since the 80’s.

Apparently no one cares enough so we ate the cost of re routing. Fuck HOA’s

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#9

Post by thisrobot » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:42 PM UTC

mdorazio wrote: post #6

thisrobot wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think people think they don’t like condos. I currently live in a condo I own and while not without challenges overall I like it. I think people have unrealistic pessimism for hoas. In Seattle there are a ton for town homes being built, split lot and connected, most without any hoa. When they need work I bet you’ll see a lot of neighbors suing neighbors to fix and replace shared elements. I would never move into sha…

Do you have kids? Among my friends group there was a very stark change in home-type preference between when people were childless and when they had kids.

I do not. But I have neighbors who do. My wife also grew up in a condo. Every living situation has different trade offs. Maybe condos don’t work for some people. I think for most people, particularly young people they make a great first home.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#10

Post by mslate » Sat, Feb 12, 2022, 7:44 PM UTC

Sounds like the real estate developers are making the rational choice here--we could make these deregulations that the Urban Institute are pushing for but they never stop to entertain the possibility that this is probably a symptom of the American wealth inequality curve.

While it would be nice if more people could get a first foothold in real estate ownership & wealth-building by buying a share of a condo building, they just aren't quite there yet on the wealth curve.