Post by High Priestess on Oct 15, 2016 14:01:48 GMT
This article comes to the same conclusions that others have when investigating the high cost of housing...it's largely owing to government fees and regulations.
reason.com/archives/2016/10/15/dont-blame-airbnb-for-new-york-citys-hig
Outrageous rent in New York City is nothing new, but the alleged culprit— ---AirBnb ---—did not exist until 2008, though the city's rent problem can be dated back to the 1980s. How exactly has AirBnb been squeezing housing options for New Yorkers since before its creation? The short answer is that it has not. In a mind-boggling case of government dishonesty, the mayor and city council are blaming problems created by years of government overreach on the new guy in town. (And by the way, they do the same thing in San Francisco).
Consider a 2003 National Bureau of Economic Research study by Harvard University professor Ed Glaeser on the rent prices in Manhattan. The study found that land use regulations, such as "quantity controls, myriad zoning rules, or taxes and fees" heavily limit and increase the costs of new construction. Back in 2002, this created a regulatory burden for the median condo in Manhattan that accounted for 56 percent of the construction price. The study also concluded that for half of Manhattan condo dwellers, regulations cost at least $5,500 a year. For others, the cost was even higher.
Furthermore, AirBnb is simply not a large enough operation to have an effect on housing prices. AirBnb currently has 41,000 listings in New York City. This is just over one percent of the three million housing units in the city. Even if every AirBnb listing were filled year-round by tourists or business travelers, it is not possible for such a small fraction of available housing to push up rents in any noticeable way.
The hypocrisy of the present situation is astounding. De Blasio, in his push to help low-income New Yorkers find affordable housing, proposes the same policies that have been raising rents since the 1980s. At the same time, he is limiting opportunities for low-income New Yorkers to afford the high rents that government caused.
Living in Manhattan will always be more expensive than living in rural Oklahoma. But that is no excuse for New York City policymakers to drive housing costs even higher. If Mayor de Blasio truly wants to help low-income New Yorkers, he should not regulate away a source of extra income. Similarly, there is no way to combat the housing affordability crisis without expanding the supply of housing. It is not AirBnb that causes high rents, but politicians.
Consider a 2003 National Bureau of Economic Research study by Harvard University professor Ed Glaeser on the rent prices in Manhattan. The study found that land use regulations, such as "quantity controls, myriad zoning rules, or taxes and fees" heavily limit and increase the costs of new construction. Back in 2002, this created a regulatory burden for the median condo in Manhattan that accounted for 56 percent of the construction price. The study also concluded that for half of Manhattan condo dwellers, regulations cost at least $5,500 a year. For others, the cost was even higher.
Furthermore, AirBnb is simply not a large enough operation to have an effect on housing prices. AirBnb currently has 41,000 listings in New York City. This is just over one percent of the three million housing units in the city. Even if every AirBnb listing were filled year-round by tourists or business travelers, it is not possible for such a small fraction of available housing to push up rents in any noticeable way.
The hypocrisy of the present situation is astounding. De Blasio, in his push to help low-income New Yorkers find affordable housing, proposes the same policies that have been raising rents since the 1980s. At the same time, he is limiting opportunities for low-income New Yorkers to afford the high rents that government caused.
Living in Manhattan will always be more expensive than living in rural Oklahoma. But that is no excuse for New York City policymakers to drive housing costs even higher. If Mayor de Blasio truly wants to help low-income New Yorkers, he should not regulate away a source of extra income. Similarly, there is no way to combat the housing affordability crisis without expanding the supply of housing. It is not AirBnb that causes high rents, but politicians.