The elephant in the room for the housing issue, is that the majority of what is being constructed will not be available to those who truly need housing. How many luxury apartments (which is a laugh when you watch them being built) do we need? Before these bills passed, I asked if my legislator would rent a casita on her property to a Section 8 person. She hemmed & hawed and said that there's a lot of paperwork associated with that. DUH! But they are often the people who need housing security. We hear about owners of apartment complexes moving people out, slapping on new paint and perhaps a few new appliances, and jacking the rent up. And the former residents cannot afford to return.
While I own a house, the current rent around me is 4 times what I pay monthly in house payments. And building a casita on my lot is out of the question because I would lose the area where I have my garden. I do like fresh veggies, but I digress.
The other elephant is WATER so I hope you focus a lot more on that because our legislators don't seem to grasp how crucial it is to our survival.
Yes. I live in a condo complex in the northern end of Phoenix, and there are apartment building going up all around us, but the prices we hear about are astronomical. This is probably good for our condo valuation, but any effect on those who most need housing will be minor at best.
I was present when a friends dog was euthanized. Bandit was a 125 pound mixed breed. He went peacefully. Why can’t those on death row be given the same drugs? Am I missing something here?
Point of order: you're misreading the MAG data in the fourth paragraph. It doesn't say that housing units built are down 25% in the last 12 years. Look at the chart: 12 years ago was the absolute low point of the century with only 6,634 units built. Last year the county saw 35,369 units built, decidedly not a 25% decrease.
The paragraph below the chart is referring to a comparison of the number of units built 2000 to 2010 (389,400) to the past 12 years (290,800), which is a 25% decrease.
Also, you blame the League for killing the housing bills in 2023, but what I remember that session was Kaiser and the League coming to an agreement on housing bills in early June. It was a Friday morning and everything indicated that the bills would pass on Monday the next week. Over the weekend, a group of Republicans decided not to support the deal and the deal fell apart by Monday morning (then, coincidentally, Kaiser decided he wanted to spend more time with his family).
Kate is right about Airbnb. If the legislature changed the wording of the short term rental legislation to “may” allow instead of “must” for cities and towns to decide we could see 20% of, virtually, commercial properties in neighborhoods either rented with a 30 day minimum or sold. That would immediately add inventory to rent or buy. Airbnb knows how to grease those palms.
The elephant in the room for the housing issue, is that the majority of what is being constructed will not be available to those who truly need housing. How many luxury apartments (which is a laugh when you watch them being built) do we need? Before these bills passed, I asked if my legislator would rent a casita on her property to a Section 8 person. She hemmed & hawed and said that there's a lot of paperwork associated with that. DUH! But they are often the people who need housing security. We hear about owners of apartment complexes moving people out, slapping on new paint and perhaps a few new appliances, and jacking the rent up. And the former residents cannot afford to return.
While I own a house, the current rent around me is 4 times what I pay monthly in house payments. And building a casita on my lot is out of the question because I would lose the area where I have my garden. I do like fresh veggies, but I digress.
The other elephant is WATER so I hope you focus a lot more on that because our legislators don't seem to grasp how crucial it is to our survival.
Yes. I live in a condo complex in the northern end of Phoenix, and there are apartment building going up all around us, but the prices we hear about are astronomical. This is probably good for our condo valuation, but any effect on those who most need housing will be minor at best.
I don't mind the legislature being paid while not working. We are all better off when they are not doing anything.
Nobody's life, liberty or pursuit of happiness is safe when the legislature is in session.
I was present when a friends dog was euthanized. Bandit was a 125 pound mixed breed. He went peacefully. Why can’t those on death row be given the same drugs? Am I missing something here?
Point of order: you're misreading the MAG data in the fourth paragraph. It doesn't say that housing units built are down 25% in the last 12 years. Look at the chart: 12 years ago was the absolute low point of the century with only 6,634 units built. Last year the county saw 35,369 units built, decidedly not a 25% decrease.
The paragraph below the chart is referring to a comparison of the number of units built 2000 to 2010 (389,400) to the past 12 years (290,800), which is a 25% decrease.
Also, you blame the League for killing the housing bills in 2023, but what I remember that session was Kaiser and the League coming to an agreement on housing bills in early June. It was a Friday morning and everything indicated that the bills would pass on Monday the next week. Over the weekend, a group of Republicans decided not to support the deal and the deal fell apart by Monday morning (then, coincidentally, Kaiser decided he wanted to spend more time with his family).
Kate is right about Airbnb. If the legislature changed the wording of the short term rental legislation to “may” allow instead of “must” for cities and towns to decide we could see 20% of, virtually, commercial properties in neighborhoods either rented with a 30 day minimum or sold. That would immediately add inventory to rent or buy. Airbnb knows how to grease those palms.