"Housing Crisis"

 

I bought my first house in 1983. It was a three-bedroom, four-bath (two full baths, two powder rooms), three-level, end unit townhouse in Northern Virginia, and it cost $68,200. I sold it three years later for about $120,000. According to Zillow.com, that house today is worth $500,100. A new townhouse development not far from our home is advertising homes "from the $800s*."

Riddle me this, Batman: if you are a low- to middle-income wage earner, whether single or with a family, how do you afford a home at these prices ... which, of course, do not include insurance, utilities, or taxes (all quite high in many areas)? And, having paid for all that, how do you afford other frivolous things like food, clothing, medical care?

We do not have a "housing crisis" ... we have a housing affordability crisis. 

There are many reasons for this, including:

1. Inflation, aka "Greed." See my earlier blog post on the topic.

2. Purchase of multiple homes by wealthy investors and used as rental properties, and the calculated deflection of responsibility for the cost increases.

3. Overconstruction of huge, expensive "McMansions" marketed to more affluent purchasers, at the expense of smaller, less expensive homes affordable for couples or small families with lower incomes.

4. Wages that do not allow workers to afford adequate housing

That the nation has a serious shortage of affordable housing is reflected in the problem of homelessness that plagues our cities. Der Furor - offended by the presence of homeless persons and homeless encampments in Washington, DC - has deployed an alphabet soup of federal law enforcement agencies and National Guard forces from multiple states to the streets of the capital to remove unfortunate persons who often have nowhere else to go. Out of sight, out of mind.

The presence of homeless persons on our streets is a scandal unworthy of a great nation. A real president, rather than an incompetent, posturing, authoritarian buffoon, would address the causes of homelessness - among them the outrageous cost of housing, zoning rules that prevent the construction of the types of housing most needed, and a lack of mental-health support for those in need, especially homeless veterans - rather than its symptoms.   

Simply publishing more royal decrees executive orders** won't solve the problem. Only action to address the root causes will. But don't expect it from this administration.

Have a good day. If you are fortunate enough to afford a place to live, enjoy it ... too many of your fellow citizens are not so lucky.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Realtors and developers are reluctant to actually say "Eight hundred thousand dollars and up."

** Executive Order 14321, "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets," is not a substitute for effective, broad-based action, but it sounds good to the MAGAts.