Comments on: Blog: Good planning and the market /news/2015/04/23/blog-good-planning-and-the-market/ Building and Construction News in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Mon, 27 Apr 2015 22:58:52 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.6 By: mildnerg@pdx.edu /news/2015/04/23/blog-good-planning-and-the-market/#comment-468781 Mon, 27 Apr 2015 22:58:52 +0000 /?p=134422#comment-468781 The blog post was short, but I think it understates the potential for regional planning to influence the market. The Portland area has lived with tight urban growth boundaries for 35 years. The boundary has been expanded by approximately 15% despite 1-2% population growth per year. As a result, land costs are considerably higher inside the UGB than outside (probably 10 times). And the seemingly benign assumption that we should “grow up rather than grow out” means higher housing costs. Garden apartments cost $1.00-$2.00 per square foot in rent to justify construction. Mid-rise apartments (5-6 stories) require $1.70-$2.10 per square foot. And high rise construction (7+ stories) require $2.70 to $2.90 per square foot. Metro’s Urban Growth Report assumes most of the new housing development in the region will happen in mid-rise and high-rise apartments in the City of Portland, 90% of which will be redevelopment (ie, demolition and rebuild). To do that, they forecast that rents will double, reaching the levels in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. That policy will choke off economic growth and create harm for low-income households.

As a result, it’s certainly possible for government to damage housing affordability.

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