Re:Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents
by foxglacier on Thursday March 19, 2026 @03:13AM
(#47435936)
It's regulations. But before you call them broken, some of it is safety. Safety standards keep rising with technology and the economy as people can afford more. Same with cars. There's also zoning restrictions in some places designed to prevent slums by requiring large residences. I guess that's happening here too.
Re:Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents
by cylemons on Thursday March 19, 2026 @06:27AM
(#47437151)
Also living standards, ancients houses are dead simple and today could probably be built with usd 5k-10k in a couple months. But most people wont accept a home with no electrity, no lights, no AC, no indoor plumming, etc.
Re:Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents
by foxglacier on Friday March 20, 2026 @02:03PM
(#47458309)
Yes that too. We're a bunch of spoiled brats complaining how much we have to work but it's only because lifestyle creep keeps pace with wealth.
Re:Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents
by michaelmrose on Thursday March 19, 2026 @03:11AM
(#47435919)
The average person would need a MASSIVE investment in time to learn all the skills required in addition to investment in tools. Furthermore people won't lend joe random the funds required in the same fashion as they would for an actual finished house OR constructing a house via a contractor.
Stop and think for a second. Someone in good health with a willingness to DIY and a sufficiently flexible schedule can literally build their own house from the ground up. It's a substantial time investment but not actually as much as you might think. Housing isn't very resource intensive compared to the rest of the modern economy.
The only possibilities I can imagine to explain unaffordable housing are broken regulations, critical levels of resource exhaustion, natural or man made disaster, and gross economic dysfunction.