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The two hardest and most unforgiving facts in housing policy are that it actually costs a lot of money to build new homes and that the rents that poor people can afford are not enough to pay off the cost of construction.

Eli Friedmann @eligit.bsky.social

Although I do understand the frustration with the brutally high cost of housing, people tend to deemphasize the actual cost. of materials, maintenance (which goes on indefinitely), insurance etc. The want to think all of the cost is due to the greed of whoever owns the building.

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈

@maxdubler.com

22 July

Vital third fact: bsky.app/profile/rika...

Rik Adamski@rikadamski.bsky.social

The third is that, unlike most other necessities, there is no massive surplus of housing that could be distributed to the needy, with some political will. We actually have a shortage.

Kenneth Trease

@kptrease.bsky.social

22 July

I might argue a fourth fact is that housing is not a natural resource. There is no natural limit on how much we can extract, and it doesn't damage anything to create more, despite how much we pretend otherwise. We can just make more.

Benson Flinn

@bensonflinn.bsky.social

22 July

this goes a little too far. timber, concrete and steel are all either finite or carbon intensive or both.

Benson Flinn

@bensonflinn.bsky.social

22 July

and thats even before the other stuff we put in the houses after they are framed. i generally agree but we need to be careful about the framing i think. density foxes this anyways though. build up and we have to use less of everything

Kenneth Trease

@kptrease.bsky.social

A world in which timber, concrete or steel were the limiting factor in housing production would be a very different world. We can replace all of these, but if we don’t let ourselves build, it won’t matter.

22/7/26, 4:59 pm0 reposts0 likes

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