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Explain this chart: Why Are Homes in Western States So Expensive?www.construction-physics.com/p/why-are-homes-in-western-states-so
1707 sats \ 24 comments \ @Scoresby 6 Jul charts_and_numbers
It's not just higher demand for houses in the west.
Outside of metro areas, most of the US is a sea of counties where median home values are low. There are six states that don’t have a single county with a median home value over $300K, and seven more states that have three counties or less above $300K. By contrast, western states have numerous counties with high median home values. California has 17 counties with a median home price above $700K, Colorado has five, and Utah has two. By contrast, New York, Virginia, and Massachusetts all have two apiece, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania have none.
The author of the article in the link provides a bunch of interesting data that may explain the chart. It's very much worth the read.
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263 sats \ 5 replies \ @anon 6 Jul
I live in the West Coast and I can confirm that prices are ridiculously high. Me and my wife have been trying to save money(as well as stacking sats) to buy a house for our family and we have just keep get priced out. I work in construction and I can also confirm that the area around here is beautiful and the weather is great which increases demand.
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116 sats \ 3 replies \ @Scoresby OP 6 Jul
I grew up north of Seattle. My dad was in construction, but it was still possible to buy in then. Now, it's really not feasible for trades to do unless you have double income, or help from boomers.
Average age in the traded is like 55 though, so maybe it'll start to pay so good that it keeps up with the home prices.
It's such a good part of the world, though.
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102 sats \ 1 reply \ @Machiavelli23 6 Jul
Yes, the Wes Coast if beautiful and also construction doesn’t pay as good unless you have your own company. I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking about starting my own business just so that me and my wife can afford a home but even starting a business comes with more taxes.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
and more risk
most small businesses fail
not trying to discourage you only questioning your assumption
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
Seattle used to be a beautiful city, not anymore
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
CEQA rules and compliance makes construction 5x more expensive
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152 sats \ 1 reply \ @sancristrader 8 Jul
This map looks somewhat correlated
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby OP 8 Jul
Tough to know: is it lots of immigration = sign of growth, wealth, more demand for housing...or is it foreign buyers buying up homes? The latter seems unlikely to me as non home owners probably make up a large portion of the population.
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289 sats \ 9 replies \ @Undisciplined 6 Jul
Artificial scarcity is the main driver. The western states have most of their land locked up in National Parks and Forests, so new land can’t be developed in the areas with highest demand.
Natural scarcity is a factor too. The west has more land that isn’t suitable for development due to the terrain.
Remoteness plays a role as well. Shipping costs are higher to some of these places and it’s hard to get skilled craftsmen out.
My last thought is that a disproportionate amount of demand is from rich people wanting a place with lots of natural beauty.
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147 sats \ 4 replies \ @Scoresby OP 6 Jul
Artificial scarcity is the main driver.
I agree with this, but think it's more because of nimbyism than it is from national parks/forests. The West is huge. Like really mind bogglingly huge. There's no lack of land.
Even Seattle, which was built at like the most narrow strip of land between a lake and the sound, still has a larger footprint than a city like Paris ( Paris: ~40 sq miles, Seattle ~80 sq miles). The ground is there for building.
But a lot of western counties (which also happen to be long time Democrat-run counties) put up so much red tape to building that it's painfully slow and expensive.
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160 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined 6 Jul
You're right that nimbyism is a big problem in the west, but the feds control the majority of land in many of these states, which pushes everyone into the same handful of metro areas, rather than the many small towns you see in the rest of the country.
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
the people who complain about nimbyism are more likely to be guilty of it
another example of projection
I love nimbyism: out of my backyard and frontyard
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113 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 6 Jul
the people who complain about nimbyism are more likely to be guilty of it
What is this based on? It doesn't match my experience at all and it certainly doesn't apply to me.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
California residents who live in metro areas near the beach and complain about nimby on Reddit
I think I found my error
edit: regarding disproportionate number of rich people bidding up housing prices, reminds me of the line from tv show 30 Rock: this merger has to succeed, there are vacation homes at stake!
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160 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB 6 Jul
You forgot the mention how much bigger homes have gotten and all the modern amenities that come with a home.
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105 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby OP 6 Jul
Wouldn't this also affect the East? Sure maybe homes there are older in general, but I suspect new home starts in the South or East are greater than the West (new homes are presumably larger, have more modern amenities).
Here are new single family home starts in 2023 by region:
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
A regional or national study is interesting but practically useless because all housing is local
No realtor or builder is going to read or cite this article because it is n/a, not applicable
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
Bureau of Land Management
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241 sats \ 0 replies \ @justin_shocknet 6 Jul
It's almost like you can see where Californians bug-out to play rancher.
Productive land with clean air and exquisite views and a short commute via private jet is the real hard money.
Back east the wealthy that didn't already move to Florida just go a few miles to their second houses on the coast. No one that can afford options is moving to PA or Ohio.
Overlay the map with regional airports per capita.
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30 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 6 Jul
Has @SimpleStacker skimmed this article?
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113 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 7 Jul
The only thing I'd add to what other people have already said is that money from Asia tends to be concentrated on the West Coast. It's partly why Vancouver had such a high housing cost, too.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder 7 Jul
is the job marker bigger and better in the West in general?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 6 Jul
High fees to keep certain people away
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @d680ecaa8e 6 Jul
It depends on how much house is depended and confort of life that let prices increases.
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