RVAMS t1_its9g1q wrote on October 25, 2022 at 10:43 PM

Reply to comment by plummbob in Rent too damn high? Landlords have formed an illegal cartel according to several reports by cogitator_tertius

The fucking problem is real estate investors snapping up properties to resell or develop for profit. Then costs of material go up so they sit on empty property until they can maximize profit, which is an affordance that small scale developers don't have - which is why it hasn't been a problem on this scale before. Blame it on zoning, but Euclid zoning has been around for 100 years and this is magically the first time we are facing this problem at this scale. Ignoring that different localities have different processes for changing zoning, permits, and several other variables which doesn't properly explain why this is happening all at once everywhere.

The problem is huge companies gobbling up everything and waiting to maximize profit. We have a ton of fucking land that can easily be developed but not without their say so because the cost of lumber and other materials hit an all time high, and the cost of weathering the storm makes more sense to them than developing and selling now and making less of a profit.

plummbob t1_its9y8a wrote on October 25, 2022 at 10:47 PM

Most of the usable land in the city is zoned single use, low density.

Building costs aren't the barrier to entry. 4plexes, townhouses, cottage or village styles are all viable, but the zonig code only allows them in a few select areas.

Investment is obviously not the problem.

RVAMS t1_itsa6gs wrote on October 25, 2022 at 10:48 PM

The city or every single metro area in the country?

The 100 largest landowners increasing their stake by 50% every ten years surely has nothing to do with this problem. Surely the ultra wealthy and multinational developers working in tandem have nothing to do with this issue so I guess I'll just blame it on checks notes zoning policy in every county in the country.