Don’t forget another aspect driving up the cost of housing - ever ratcheting upwards building codes.
Sure you’re “safer” - if you could afford to build and live in that new house with all the newly required stuff.
It’s insane how much gets added to the codes cycle after cycle.
Bkmk
Cut planning, zoning and land use regulations to allow capable owner-builders and unlicensed builders. Inspections by the manual. Bust the builders’ rackets. For emergency housing, include random drug testing with controls to assure randomness to separate the drug addicted from the clean. Then see the contrast for the first time.
‘affordable’ < housing voucher price cap
If you have a housing voucher they are affordable.
My friend is now very unhappy in his affordable unit in DC. There have been incidents in the past year or so.
How about just an ‘addition’ to the existing house?
Many old English houses are large because an extended family needed lots of space.
In the next Seattle election, we will have a chance to vote on a $2 billion bond issue to fund affordable rental units.
In my 20 years as a Seattle voter, I cannot recall even one spending initiative that failed to pass!
section 8