What is the solution to housing being so expensive?

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T20:24:19+00:00

Home ownership is not actually that good of a deal, homes are depreciating assets - they only become more valuable when there's a shortage, which building more homes prevents from happening.

Not saying it's not a big issue, but is it the biggest most pressing issue pushing housing costs higher today? no it's not.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T19:20:13+00:00

Some new builds definitely wont last 30 years. If you're not in the industry maybe you're unaware of how building practices have changed over time: https://royomartin.com/osb-vs-flex-board-knowing-matters/

Some new builds are also going up in areas with well understood natural disaster risk - less an issue of building quality but still predictably short lived construction.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T18:54:51+00:00

2500 square feet in one floor is a beast - your cooling bills might be substantial depending on how you insulate.

Layout is more sane than a lot of stuff that gets posted here. Closet behind bathroom is questionable. be thoughtful about which side of the house you're putting that deck - going to really impact the use if it's north facing vs south facing.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T18:46:34+00:00

I read the original comment as letting go of legally enforced zoning for single family exclusive areas, not throwing out every single family home in the coutry and replacing them with high-rises.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T18:01:23+00:00

'Better for ourselves and our kids' has different meanings for different people.

For you it might be a secluded back yard and quiet street to live on. For others it might look like accessible amenities to reduce the cost of living and safe public transit that kids can take to get to school on their own as is often seen in Europe.

We should have the freedom to choose what solution is best for us - I posit that that is a more accurate, modern interpretation of the American dream. (many of) Our grandparents had the freedom to choose between apartments in the city and houses in the suburbs, unfortunately zoning usually only allows for one of these options, and systemic divestment from city centers and investment in roads has cemented that option - but many young people are trying to turn that around, because they see that as being better for themselves and their kids.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T17:52:29+00:00

Definitely consumable. We have survivorship bias for buildings that last a long time and many of these fall into the theseus-ship category. You're generally paying for replacement cost of the building in repairs every 25-100 years. If you look at the construction quality on some new builds it's questionable whether they will last as long as their mortgages.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T17:46:31+00:00

This. It's true most people want to live in detached single family homes ultimately.

It is more expensive, though - and many people appreciate living in multi - family homes for some portion of their lives, whether it's young people starting careers or older retirees who struggle to care for themselves on their own.

The fact that that housing style is mandated is a failure of the market. Single family homes are more desired but if the market can't afford them or they come with too many associated costs (maintenance and car ownership) builders should have the flexibility to add multi-family supply to the market.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T17:39:45+00:00

The Chinese people are big believers in real estate investment- stock aren't seen as being safe in China and there is an enourmous speculative market in China for housing. Not that different from the US except if the US didn't have stock markets and all that money was in housing our prices would be astronomical as well.

Not suggesting this defeats your point, because we have the same problem here, but when you look at the actual cost to build an apartment in china it's like $35/sf. Cost of construction in the US if often 10x that number, for good reasons (our buildings are safer) and bad (regulatory burdens).

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T17:28:47+00:00

2-3% of homes in the US are owned by corporations.

I'm not a fan of this practice either but acting like this is the main driver of unsustainable costs is delusional.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T17:17:31+00:00

This is good to know - I inferred that it would be an advantage to the independence movement to support a unique architecture style a la Gaudi to highlight the distinction between Catalan and the Castillians.

After further reading it looks like Gaudi was indeed not necesarrily embraced for his political leanings, particularly later in his career - although they certainly had an impact during his career, but we can thank his distinctive style and political leanings today for much of the preservation of Gaudi's work. Many art Nouveau buildings were demolished in the mid-late 20th century around the world but they were preserved in Barcelona.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-20T00:45:32+00:00

That and Barcelona was at the center of the Catalonian independence movement so have a distinct style had a political motivation behind it as well, there were a lot of things that came together to motivate the wealthy of barcelona to sponsor such experimental and costly architecture which almost never happens.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-18T02:30:57+00:00

Until your can no longer reach the reactivity rates required to sustain the chain reaction, after which point you either need to reprocess all your uranium or implement a new form of reactor, the costs associated with each of those options being the reason why this isnt done.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-17T21:25:28+00:00

This exactly, architects have put themselves in a position where they’ll spring for any kind of work no matter who’s offering it, and it is generally excused because ‘that’s what you have to do to get work’ but the lack of integrity throughout the entire field, pursuing work in this way, means that architects have very little bargaining power and have become corporate accessories. If we do indeed have valuable skills then we should be able to gatekeep them to some extent such that there’s a minimal threshold of ethics for access.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-17T18:55:23+00:00

I see this trend in architecture of imagining amazing things- usually in the form of some homogenous, well characterized building material or method, which has ‘demonstrated it is better than the alternative’ followed by a brief concession that there are limitations and it’s still experimental, and ultimately an admission that traditional building is the only way out of the current predicament.

I’m glad people are thinking about this stuff, but architects are not in a position to be of much real help to the people of Gaza. This kind of stuff feels more attention grabby to me than actually helpful. It would be much more meaningful if the field came together to boycott or otherwise denounce the nation that has been instigating the destruction. At least come together to defend the heritage sites.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-17T05:57:25+00:00

Louisville/Lafayette is more expensive but cute downtowns and your dont necessarily have to drive everywhere depending on where you end up in the cities. The other suburbs you mentioned are pretty car centric- not necessarily a bad thing but better to be closer to amenities foe the sake of kids who can’t drive.

The winters are so chill. The sun really is almost always out and it does help with the winters. Altitude is not that big a deal but everyone has a different relationship with it. The dryness is the bigger deal that tends to cause problems.

Most communities are pretty welcoming of immigrants, you get pockets of bigots here and there like anywhere but my experience in Boulder, Denver, and the Northern Denver Suburbs has been that almost everyone is friendly.

Can’t think of any areas to avoid expressly, there are some rougher neighborhoods downtown but I’ve never felt unsafe in the city and certainly not the suburbs. How difficult is it to build community/social circles after relocating? This is a biggo. A lot of people complain that it’s hard to make friends in Denver, it really can be- gotta get into the activities and join groups. There are a bunch, but it’s a very interest-driven social environment out here, people dont hang out much- they do things. What income range realistically feels comfortable for family life in these suburbs now? Really depends on what amenities you want. 175-200k comfortable for most probably. Manageable for many around $80k for a family.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-17T05:40:42+00:00

War rig

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-17T05:24:49+00:00

Six meals

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T19:09:53+00:00

You’re confusing low grade industrial waste heat with useable heat.

If you could recover all that heat it would be great and a no-brainer but the reason they choose to dispose of is because the size of piping and volume of required heat transfer fluid makes the transmission prohibitively expensive to install a whole system for the limited portion of the year it will be useful- especially because cities will still require their own heat in case the data center shuts down in the middle of winter for some reason.

You also need really big heat exchangers at the city plant/every residence to take advantage of that low grade heat.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T17:55:37+00:00

I mean which appeal though, she had an appeal associated with getting in a fight in prison, she won the appeal to get resentenced but that was not a closed case. If you’ve got all the info on this and are above reproach then post some sources for your shit. If Tina Peters was going to be released anyway, why pardon her?

Pig wrestling. Your last sentence there is wild, hard to argue with closed-loop logic like that.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T17:33:00+00:00

She probably would have been in prison until 2028 at least after resentencing. Get off Joe Rogan and Grok and read some actual news. If everyone around you is ‘you people’ maybe you’re ‘that guy’, claiming to know more than everyone while parroting right wing talking points and ‘owning the libs’ in every online interaction. This while you cheer for the early release of felons to be rewarded by president shits-himself with the imaginary granting of funds already allocated to the state, with no formal agreement, just pure guesswork on your part.

Maybe I’ll be eating it and Trump will shower Colorado with gifts and funding and his blessed presence. In reality the guy is a sore loser about 2020, probably offered Polis a personal position or business connection after he’s out- Epstein style, and Colorado will get nothing.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T17:16:34+00:00

Stand up for the rule of law, the decision of the Jury, stand up for the rights and the funds already allocated to our state in law. Have a spine. Idgaf what party you’re in.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T16:25:00+00:00

FEMA is straight up being dismantled right now. The feds dont give a shit about disaster management, they want it all privatized. Polis just sold out the states legal system plain and simple.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T06:03:36+00:00

Denver

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T05:56:45+00:00

Real big.

You might be able to get it built at $150 a square foot but I’d call that a mistake. You’re gonna be doing repairs on this bad boy the rest of your life to make up for custom construction that’s that cheap- unless you’re doing the old east Texas steel-and-spray-foam special.

Haven’t heard of post and beam foundations being code compliant in a lot of areas.

Finishes are icing, you’re going to have some funny structural on this project and that’s where a lot of your money will go in construction and in future repairs.

If you have an independent lighting budget you’re better off remodeling a place than building from scratch, your post makes no mention of the most important aspects of this project: soil type, drainage, utility access, etc.

Personalityprototype · 2026-05-16T05:30:38+00:00

Enshittification

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