Real Reason For Housing Shortage
By Rod Eccles
Too many people, too few housing units equals unaffordability.
Here in the USA we have a serious and severe housing shortage. Some would argue that the Covid-19 pandemic is the main cause of this issue. The reality is that it is not. Covid-19 only exposed the problem that was hidden.
The real reason we have a shortage is two-fold. Too many people and two few housing starts. Let me briefly tackle the second problem first.
Too few housing starts. This is not due the fact that builders don’t want to build new homes and apartments. Its because local, state and federal regulations make it very expensive for builders to buy land and build anything on that land. This forces builders to have to build the so-called McMansions in order to make a profit.
You can’t build affordable housing when the cost of building such units exceeds what you can charge and make on such housing. It is easier and more profitable to build bigger homes at much higher costs than smaller more affordable houses.
Why is this the case then? Besides regulations, which we have done to ourselves, its due to that fact we have too many people. Not over population as the left would have you believe. This is a false over population problem.
Over the last two years alone we have let up to 5 million immigrants (mostly illegal) into this country. 5 MILLION. They all must have a place to live. Often they get lots of local, state and federal housing assistance which means they are not footing the bill for housing. This forces citizens to have to pay more for housing because of supply and demand. More people, small supply equals higher rents and housing costs. Thus we have a growing homeless population in the USA that is at its breaking point in many cities around the country.
Frankly even if regulations were rolled back, it would be very difficult and it would take a lot of time for builders to make up for the lack of housing. It is going to take a lot of building to house an additional 5 million people.
The simple answer is this. Stop the flow of immigration into the USA. Deport illegals until they can be processed legally. Roll back some of the draconian regulations so more affordable houses and apartments can be built.
Its not hard. It just takes political will power to do the right thing for citizens and for immigrants who want to call the USA home. What we are doing now is really inhuman. Its a humanitarian crisis our government has created. Its a humanitarian crisis that can be fixed simply although it will take time.
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