I’ve been using a parable to respond to some of the more off base views of housing economics I run into, especially the oft repeated syllogism, “increasing housing supply won’t lower prices because more housing attracts people who earn lots of money; so developers will just build more housing for the rich.” Oddly, these people […]
I’ve already written about the basic math when it comes to meeting the demand for affordable housing in the next two decades: the Multifamily Tax Exemption Program and the Housing Levy very efficiently can meet that need. Meanwhile, the linkage tax being promoted by Councilmember O’Brien is a pricey solution that will raise rents—exactly what […]
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw introduced a Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) directing the Office of Housing to create an Affordable Housing Preservation Plan (AHP). We think this will go a long way to stop the sad stories reported in the press when non-profit buildings get purchased by for profit developers. Have a plan that includes tracking […]