So, did the taxpayers get their money's worth with this consultation that cost $70k? I like your suggestion that the city remove some of the bureaucratic barriers that developers face so smaller businesses would find a project profitable rather than the city seeking out developers and offering incentives to build the middle housing we are seemingly lacking. As an aside, we couldn't donate $5k to help Tosans pay their medical bills, but can hand over $70k for a questionably necessary consult.
Most of the data you can pull from the ACS and 2020 census. The overall study was insightful but confirmed what we already know. If we "keep on keeping on" I'm not sure how useful it will be?
Yes, we keep hearing about supply and demand but with most of these developers they care more about the land the building is sitting on more than anything. Why do you think they keep constructing these 5-over-1 apartments? We can't ignore the macroeconomics of what is going on.
Also the concept that "rental is the way out" is a complete falsity. People need to build equity and not pay off a developer's debt ad infinitum (developers leverage rents/profits from one property to build more).
Is there any room in the discussion for “why does the government need to be involved in this at all, and market forces that built 99% of the housing will take care of additional housing when demand and economics align for private investors?”
Great question. We have three core problems the market needs to address.
-Housing scarcity
-1/4 of Wauwatosans are cost-burdened by housing
-Rentals do not generate equity for the tenant
The "market" is essentially only building luxury and ultra-luxury apartments. Increasing supply will not lower prices because we are so far behind, and the developers care more about the land the building sits on.
Modern civilizations (outside feudalistic societies/hunter-gatherers) tend not to do well when large parts of their population are homeless.
Last, in my opinion, housing is a human right, and the government should ensure everyone has a roof over their head. Spending tax dollars to house individuals is one of the best investments we can make as a society. I hope this answered your question.
Thanks, Andrew. It sounds like we have significant "role of government in life" differences of opinion.
I don't expect people to move to Wauwatosa without housing lined up, so I don't foresee a massive homeless population swooping in because rent is too high. Or are you saying we have a material homelessness problem now? (I thought "unhoused" was the new OK-word -- just kidding)
Should I understand you to be saying that the government should gift everyone homes/property such that they have "equity" in them?
Finally, Wauwatosa is a nice place to live. Unfortunately, it is going to cost-burden some people to live somewhere nice -- that's why I don't live in Aspen. Should Aspen build me a house?
The "role of government" debate wages on. :) I put some thoughts for some of your questions below.
Housing insecurity and homelessness are expanding rapidly across the United States, and it will likely impact Tosa at some point. We redid the strategic plan and making sure we have a diverse housing portfolio (to the best of our ability) to have options for everyone on the income scale is essential for a healthy socioeconomic community.
The government shouldn't "gift" housing, but there should be a housing-first strategy. I have a link below explaining MKE County's program for context.
The equity component is more of a comment about the current state of housing. The "American Dream" was to buy a house with a white picket fence and build equity in the home over time. This method was how families primarily generated wealth for decades. Now, renters are (for the most part) paying the debt load for large corporations in these developments and not creating any equity for themselves. You can google the real estate wealth disparity between Millennials/Zoomers and other generational cohorts for their age range and see what I'm talking about. Creating more ownership options is key to try and fix this issue.
Thank you again for your engagement and interest in local reporting.
So, did the taxpayers get their money's worth with this consultation that cost $70k? I like your suggestion that the city remove some of the bureaucratic barriers that developers face so smaller businesses would find a project profitable rather than the city seeking out developers and offering incentives to build the middle housing we are seemingly lacking. As an aside, we couldn't donate $5k to help Tosans pay their medical bills, but can hand over $70k for a questionably necessary consult.
Most of the data you can pull from the ACS and 2020 census. The overall study was insightful but confirmed what we already know. If we "keep on keeping on" I'm not sure how useful it will be?
Yes, we keep hearing about supply and demand but with most of these developers they care more about the land the building is sitting on more than anything. Why do you think they keep constructing these 5-over-1 apartments? We can't ignore the macroeconomics of what is going on.
Also the concept that "rental is the way out" is a complete falsity. People need to build equity and not pay off a developer's debt ad infinitum (developers leverage rents/profits from one property to build more).
Is there any room in the discussion for “why does the government need to be involved in this at all, and market forces that built 99% of the housing will take care of additional housing when demand and economics align for private investors?”
Great question. We have three core problems the market needs to address.
-Housing scarcity
-1/4 of Wauwatosans are cost-burdened by housing
-Rentals do not generate equity for the tenant
The "market" is essentially only building luxury and ultra-luxury apartments. Increasing supply will not lower prices because we are so far behind, and the developers care more about the land the building sits on.
Modern civilizations (outside feudalistic societies/hunter-gatherers) tend not to do well when large parts of their population are homeless.
Last, in my opinion, housing is a human right, and the government should ensure everyone has a roof over their head. Spending tax dollars to house individuals is one of the best investments we can make as a society. I hope this answered your question.
Thanks, Andrew. It sounds like we have significant "role of government in life" differences of opinion.
I don't expect people to move to Wauwatosa without housing lined up, so I don't foresee a massive homeless population swooping in because rent is too high. Or are you saying we have a material homelessness problem now? (I thought "unhoused" was the new OK-word -- just kidding)
Should I understand you to be saying that the government should gift everyone homes/property such that they have "equity" in them?
Finally, Wauwatosa is a nice place to live. Unfortunately, it is going to cost-burden some people to live somewhere nice -- that's why I don't live in Aspen. Should Aspen build me a house?
The "role of government" debate wages on. :) I put some thoughts for some of your questions below.
Housing insecurity and homelessness are expanding rapidly across the United States, and it will likely impact Tosa at some point. We redid the strategic plan and making sure we have a diverse housing portfolio (to the best of our ability) to have options for everyone on the income scale is essential for a healthy socioeconomic community.
The government shouldn't "gift" housing, but there should be a housing-first strategy. I have a link below explaining MKE County's program for context.
Link: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/DHHS/Housing/Housing-First
The equity component is more of a comment about the current state of housing. The "American Dream" was to buy a house with a white picket fence and build equity in the home over time. This method was how families primarily generated wealth for decades. Now, renters are (for the most part) paying the debt load for large corporations in these developments and not creating any equity for themselves. You can google the real estate wealth disparity between Millennials/Zoomers and other generational cohorts for their age range and see what I'm talking about. Creating more ownership options is key to try and fix this issue.
Thank you again for your engagement and interest in local reporting.
All very interesting and thoughtful. Thanks Andrew!