Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

One factor in the housing shortage that makes a lot of sense is elderly couples not willing to downsize for obvious reasons.  My realtor friend was talking about this, he has clients who want to downsize, but basically can't.  It has naught to do with zoning.  Obviously, there are financial factors for younger couples that zoning won't and can't help.  This is why the couples around us are renting at $3 K a month, broadly speaking.  They have plenty of income, but can't manage a house.

he's been a very active and powerful figure in Democrat party politics behind the scenes since leaving office. there's plenty of evidence of that in all the reporting that's been done on the topic. he's basically hand selected the last 3 Democrat party candidates for President.

obviously there isn't really any evidence that he's "running the country" and I don't think he is doing that- but the power he has is real and I think it'd be best for the entire country if he just fucked off and went away and stayed out of the internal politics of his party and let the voters of the party pick their candidate for President at the ballot box. kind of like every other President I can remember in history after leaving office. 

W came out against Trump after his little brother got crushed.

Of the various factors related to any housing shortage, I'd list zoning as being about number ten in importance.  Now, if the discussion is about Section 8 Housing, I'd say zoning can inhibit construction of low income apartments in higher priced residential areas. 

My guess is that is Obama's deal, he wants a lot of low income housing in upper income suburbs.

I had lunch with our realtor friend yesterday, we usually chat about housing, as he's in the biz.  There is plenty of housing here, and plenty of new construction.  There really isn't some zoning inhibition here about said new construction as the developers usually own the zoning boards.  I've noted before, near me is a TON of new construction, nearly all apartments because for some reason they are easier to build, and younger folks don't  have down payments/credit.  This area is also "hyper=zoned". 

At least near me, zoning is NOT some inhibition to development.  Any time I'm in the 'burbs I see new developments going up everywhere.  Traffic of course is a mess.

it is an inhibition but only to a certain extent. and it's certainly not THE reason why the US has a housing shortage. not even the top 5. developers get zoning changed and municipalities will work with them- but the entitlement/re-zoning process and back and forth with the local municipalities just takes a long time, you're talking 9 months up to a couple of years.

The issue makes sense, to me, if someone wants to put low income housing into some Buckhead suburb where houses cost $3 million and up.

we have a housing shortage that we will NEVER be able to catch up to because of the great depression of 2008. The entire decade following the crash the US under built 5-6 millions. We ain't gonna just catch up any time soon. Zoning laws be damned.

Pretty much this.

At that time, our firm was exclusively serving residential developers. We probably had 10,000 units under contract to design - as a 27-person firm!

One by one, all of those projects got cancelled. Some are still sitting.

We all know why 2007/8 happened, yes? Please say we all know why. Pretty please.

Zoning restrictions are the ultimate example of climbing the ladder to escape rising flood waters...

...and then pulling up the ladder behind you.

do you want a titty bar right next door to your house? your childrens school? a marijuana dispensery? you want to live right next door to a gas station? 

look i hate them, but zoning restrictions are necessary. and the municipalities will work with a developer on 'em, just takes time and $$$$. 

And I really don't even know why we're talking about them. They are NOT the reason we have a housing shortage right now.

Great depression 2008 and the under building of 5-6 million houses that followed that entire decade, COVID supply shortages & money printing causing the price of materials, labor, & land aq costs to SKY ROCKET for builders/developers, AND the interest rates getting jacked up and people being locked into 2-3-4% rates and not wanting to sell and then go have to pay more for the same or less than what they have because not only have home prices increased but rates are at 7-8%. 

In the words of Allen Iverson....we talkin' bout ZONING.....we talkn' bout ZONING?