With vague promises that “this will be better” than a previous temporary shelter at the site, council adopted new bylaws & amended the official #CommunityPlan for the #housing project at 225 Russell St.
In the worst 'Ghost Enclaves' over 50% of local homes are owned by investors for short-term holiday lets (or as seldom used second homes).
This, of course, has knock-on effects for locals trying to stay in the area for work or family reasons - the housing crisis is driven by inequality & them compounds that inequality.
The Q. is will the next government have the political will to expand social housing & clamp down on non-residential uses of homes?
The First Home grant was what allowed my whānau to finally be able to afford a modest townhouse in South Akl.
We love our little home. 🏘️
It is infuriating that a similar opportunity won't be available anymore to people like us.
(And I get that it was an inefficient subsidy on demand, but in a market as cooked as NZ's it was a helpful tool. One that should not be removed until the supply variables in the equation are solved. And currently they are only getting worse, thanks CoC)
@pezmico Is the solution not to tax the absolute fuck out of speculative profits in #housing, and spend the proceeds on building a shit-ton of new #SocialHousing rented at such low rates that it forces rental prices down in the private rental sector?
Subsidies just drive the speculative bubble higher. What we need to do -- everywhere in the world -- is destroy it.
Millennials are buying homes with friends by Tom Jones 5/17/24
"...A larger share of millennial homeowners have teamed up with friends...to purchase homes — a trend that housing experts predict will continue amid affordability issues in the housing market and the growing number of single Americans. Ten percent of millennial homeowners have purchased a home with a friend, and 7 percent have bought one with a relative other than their domestic partner or spouse.
...“Affordability is probably the key reason to do that, as well as the types of homes that are available for sale,” Dr. Lautz says. “We traditionally have seen that the most popular type of home purchased is a detached single-family home because that’s the type of inventory that we have in the country. That allows enough space for two people to live independently within that property.”
It takes years to go from concept to reality for a new apartment building. But we have been increasing construction, and a number of new units have been coming online this year.
I'm really proud of Standingstone today. A baby was born here this morning, in the yurt we erected for his parents a fortnight ago. I'm proud that we have been able to give them a place to be, relatively protected from the stresses of the world, at this important moment.
But I'm a bit ashamed for Scotland that the best place we can offer to a pair of strangers in our midst, only one of whom speaks English well, to bring a child into the world, is a tent in a field.
Two more babies will be born in the parish this summer, both of them here at Standingstone, one to parents living in a wheeled shepherd's hut, one to parents living in an old caravan. Both those couples have one member who grew up here, who went to primary and secondary school here. Both couples are in employment.
But in modern Scotland, rural people earning rural incomes can no longer afford rural #housing.
We need to break the capitalist market in #housing. We need a highly progressive tax on property in housing and in land. We need to prevent the use of dwelling houses as holiday homes or as short term lets. We need to allow people to live in structures they can afford, and to help them afford structures fit to live in.
None of our political parties -- with the dubious exception of @ScottishGreens -- are even trying to address the problems Scotland faces.
Economic Growth, Inflation Still on Track to Slow as Interest Rate Volatility Continues
Fannie Mae - May 21, 2024
“We view economic growth and inflation as being on the same track as our prior outlook, and we continue to anticipate moderation as the year progresses.”
Tackling late-life homelessness in Canada
Jillian Alston, Stefan Baral, Aaron Orkin & Sharon Straus
Many #OlderAdults experience #homelessness in #Canada, yet current shelters & temporary #housing are not designed or resourced for them. We outline the magnitude of this large & growing #PublicHealth & #social challenge, describe the social & #HealthCare needs of older adults experiencing homelessness, and suggest potential solutions.
"Labour's housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty... said removing the [First Home] grants, while also restoring interest deductibility for landlords, would make things even harder for renters to get on the ladder."