You don't need an [overall] "drop" in prices. You need housing prices within a broader range. The other problem is Prop 13, which freezes taxes for the current homeowner, thereby incentivizing the fight against new development. Forget that I mentioned Prop 13 for a second and just imagine cities in the Bay moving mountains (or rather, single-story/use retail) to incentivize the construction of four times as much housing at all price ranges. There is a reason a place like Atlanta is affordable - they build.
How we build is another topic but just focusing on underutilized properties and getting permissions and rights out of the way faster would make a huge difference in the cost - to - build. I come on HN to talk this a lot because I am a developer turned developer and if housing where as easy to build as software...you could drive a bus and not have to sleep in it.
How we build is another topic but just focusing on underutilized properties and getting permissions and rights out of the way faster would make a huge difference in the cost - to - build. I come on HN to talk this a lot because I am a developer turned developer and if housing where as easy to build as software...you could drive a bus and not have to sleep in it.