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The housing market needs more condos

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Re: The housing market needs more condos

#81

Post by dec0dedab0de »

tdeck wrote: post #72
dec0dedab0de wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only row house's I know of share side walls. Because they're all built in a row.

If you look closely when walking around a neighborhood of row houses you'll find that they don't actually share side walls. Each row house has its own exterior walls with siding / exterior finish that may end up directly adjacent to the next house's exterior wall. This is apparent in areas where one row house has been torn down or is larger than its neighbor. Of course sound and fire might travel through these more e…

I would call those townhouses, it's probably just a regional thing.

The row houses I'm thinking about are in Philadelphia, and I think most other east coast cities. Occasionally you'll see one with the neighboring house(es) demolished, and there are usually remaining bricks from the missing house on the now exterior wall.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#82

Post by sidlls »

epistasis wrote: post #76
sidlls wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost nobody, having had the pleasure of living in even a modest SFH, would prefer to be packed in like sardines the way modern high-rise buildings do. It's possible to make high density housing that doesn't feel like that, but it's not as profitable so developers don't. That's why the vast majority of high-rise condos are one and two bedroom shoeboxes instead of spacious three (or more) bedroom homes. We won't get…

> packed in like sardines the way modern high-rise buildings do. > but it's not as profitable so developers don't. Developers can only build what is legal, and the size and allowed uses are dictated almost entirely by planners. And in places with discretionary approval, other power brokers like landowners and non-profits that turn out the vote for city council members get to make most of the decisions about what is b…

You and I are in agreement, if you'll (re-?)read my comment you'll see that.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#83

Post by R0b0t1 »

lkxijlewlf wrote: post #15
more_corn wrote: post #3

Because people don’t Like condos?

Two reasons I hear most for this: 1) They don't appreciate like houses do (and depreciate faster than houses do). 2) A lot of "condos" are converted apartment buildings. This sucks because the construction is much worse (hardly any sound dampening, etc.).

#1 is circular: they don't appreciate because people don't like them. People don't like them because people like the space a house and yard gives you.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#84

Post by sofixa »

axlee wrote: post #38
goodluckchuck wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single family homes offer dominion over your housing, where condos come with a variety of complexities. Unless condo laws are improved, I wouldn’t want one. Condo regulations about noise, guests, pets, children. Some actually try to ban children. Buying and sells is complicated by the association’s finances, which depends on other people. This naturally leads to maintenance issues. Look as the surf side building coll…

It has been solved across the pond, why wouldn't the US be able to do it?

For the same reason it can't do public transit, high-speed rail, affordable healthcare and education for the masses, etc. (Insert a bunch of vague and debunkable excuses here like the size of the country(Russia, China)).

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#85

Post by whimsicalism »

sidlls wrote: post #73
neelc wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unpopular opinion: IMHO single family homes are an idea whose time passed, at least in big urban areas. While the "American Dream" is to own a home with a backyard, it is logically easier if everyone lived in highrise condos and apartments in urban areas. Homes would be cheaper, since you could scale up and not just out (e.g. avoid urban sprawl). Not to mention lower gas costs and we don't need to cut down as many tr…

Almost nobody, having had the pleasure of living in even a modest SFH, would prefer to be packed in like sardines the way modern high-rise buildings do. It's possible to make high density housing that doesn't feel like that, but it's not as profitable so developers don't. That's why the vast majority of high-rise condos are one and two bedroom shoeboxes instead of spacious three (or more) bedroom homes. We won't get…

By "not as profitable for developers," what is really meant is much more expensive for the resident. There's no two ways around that.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#86

Post by sofixa »

freyr wrote: post #49
massysett wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If all you want is a roof over your head, why not rent? It's less risky. You may well find yourself caring if your condo loses 80% of its value if you need to sell it and you can't repay the loan.

Is it always less risky? What happens when the price of apartments triples or quadruples over the years but your income stagnates or even goes down? You’d better have rent control, which is generally a bad economic policy overall, and you’d better love your apartment because you will be stuck there. When I lived in SF, many of my older neighbors were in this situation. If you own and can afford your fixed-rate mortga…

Regulating big rent increases for existing tenants isn't a bad economic policy if you compensate through other means ( e.g. you ensure there's a path to homeownership for those tenants, so they don't stay forever, and that new housing stock for affordable rent is added frequently).

In France there's a maximum amount you can increase a tenant's rent with, defined yearly based on market prices. Combined with one of the most popular investment vehicles, which is a buy new ( thus incentivising construction) to rent (at defined affordable prices) programme which gets you tax breaks for 10 years, and after that most people usually sell. Alongside that cities are mandated by law to have a certain percentage of "social"(affordable) housing available, so when private construction adds housing stock, cities have to add on top of it. That helps keep renting affordable while also making sure new construction appears.

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#88

Post by sofixa »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #62

Condos have all the downsides of apartments and home ownership combined. They're the trolley of homes. Where the trolley has the downsides of the train and the bus combined. With a condo I pay to own it, but also pay a monthly HOA fee forever, and I can only do approved modifications, but I'm also responsible for anything that breaks. If I own property I should be allowed to install a giant mailbox on a whim, or brea…

> As for the trolley analogy, it gives up the capacity of the train, but can't drive around an accident like a bus.

A trolley(bus) is just a bus with overhead wires for electricity. It's more eco-friendly and cheaper than buses ( in the long term), and it requires drastically less infrastructure than trams or other forms of rail because there's no rails to build and maintain. Oh and it's close to silent.

Said in another way, it's useful in certain scenarios where you don't need the capacity of a tram or heavier method of transportation but still don't want to pollute/depend on fossil fuels. Battery-powered buses are starting to change that equation but i have no idea which one is more interesting ( in price vs flexibility ( the batteries need to be charged, and replaced after some time; overhead wires need little maintenance)).

Re: The housing market needs more condos

#89

Post by ST2084 »

matsemann wrote: post #45

Lots of FUD in this thread, but I guess it depends on where one lives? My experience with things mentioned here: My condo is noiseless. The codes in my country are strict on this. I got families with children all around me, only hear them when sitting on my balcony during summer. And codes in general makes sure that buying a modern condo is safe. Here it's 5 years where the builder has to fix stuff that's not as it s…

Wait until you have a special assessment. Not fun.
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