Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing

Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by shard on Wednesday August 12, 2020 @06:37PM (#24137891)

In some regions of the world, multi-family homes are actually preferred compared with single family homes. In Korea, modern apartment highrises offer many benefits that make them a more popular choice, including: better energy efficiency, wired for high speed internet, spacious outdoor recreational areas (playgrounds and parks, often gyms (indoor and outdoor)), attached small businesses (e.g. 7-11 and restaurants on the 1st floor), security guard in the complex (and sometimes in the building), a view if on a high floor, high tech amenities such as keyless entry / video intercom / subfloor heating systems, and more modern design & aestetics. I see a similar trend starting in China as well. Single family homes are either the homes of the ultra-rich or the poor, or traditional country-side homes.

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by treis on Wednesday August 12, 2020 @06:50PM (#24138007)

We have those in the US too. They're just way more expensive than a suburban house.

Strongtowns has this blindness about how most Americans live. Look at this quote:

>you’d see higher-end restaurants, organic groceries, day care facilities, hardware stores, boutiques or bakeries or doctor's offices, depending on the mix of residents nearby.

Yeah obviously if you're well off it's awesome to live in walking distance to these things. But most people aren't. And the suburban home where you drive to a grocery store is a way cheaper life than living in Madison

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by shard on Wednesday August 12, 2020 @10:04PM (#24139250)

Are there those types of apartments in the US? The apartment complexes in NYC and California that I recall are not like that.

Also, I don't think the parent post by harimau777 was comparing specifically with suburban single family houses. A like-with-like comparison in the same or similar neighborhoods seems more appropriate. I was more addressing his statement that "only the rich can have homes that give true ownership and everyone else is stuck in multi-family homes", pointing out that for many, multi-family homes are preferable to single family houses.

Finally, to your point of living within walking distance to various shops and services. Sure, high end shopss will congregate near high-income neighborhoods, but high density neighborhoods will attract businesses even if the residents are not wealthy, due to the density driving sufficient volumes to the businesses. Thus it's likely more a matter of whether zoning allows mixed use.

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by username90 on Wednesday August 12, 2020 @07:39PM (#24138395)

Most cheap apartments in Sweden are within walking distance to those things. If you build more such neighborhoods they get cheaper, it isn't rocket science.

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by treis on Wednesday August 12, 2020 @08:00PM (#24138550)

That's not true at all. As an example, a 4 bedroom 2,000 sq ft house in the suburbs can be had for around 150k. What sort of apartment can you buy in Sweden for that much?

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by username90 on Thursday August 13, 2020 @06:34AM (#24141845)

Apartments costs as much per square feet as detached houses in the same neighborhoods. People overwhelmingly prefer to live closer to stuff and smaller if we look at what they actually pay for, so in Sweden we build a lot of neighborhoods with enough density that you can have all services within walking distance. Therefore such neighborhoods in Sweden are very cheap compared to USA.

And it isn't a lack of space to build, Sweden is less population dense than USA. Lots of people still live away from things in detached houses, those doesn't disappear just because we give others the option to not live like that. And you know, thanks to most people living in denser areas most things aren't that far away from the detached homes either, they benefit from density too.

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Re:Where the missing middle of housing isn't missing by asdff on Thursday August 13, 2020 @01:49AM (#24140309)

thats really due to an oversupply in that particular suburb that you cite. In shaker heights, Ohio, you can get an 8 bedroom mansion for like 700k, or 2 bedrooms in LA in a single family home neighborhood.

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