Why American Cities Are So Expensive To Live In

America is one of the most expensive countries for renting an apartment. Here's why.
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Host: / nickfreitasva

[@alaskayoung3413]

Bc democrats control the major cities? Where is it so expensive?… New York D, California D, (Seattle) Washington D, Oregon D (Portland), Georgia D (Atlanta)c ….

[@shameless6963]

That's a BINGO

[@ShowLSWH]

This is true, but in states with GOP legislatures and governors there’s still little interest at the state or judicial level to preempt bad city zoning and land use laws. In Texas for example, Republican appointed judges have been trying to stop Austin from building more housing by changing zoning and land use laws.

[@Ducotevision]

Exactly…

[@alaskayoung3413]

@@ShowLSWH prob don’t want more people living in Austin bc it’s like the “I’m a liberal fleeing a liberal state and going to move to Texas”…. City in Texas.

[@kami6401]

@@ShowLSWH Respect for unbiased answer

[@bedlamite42]

Once again, the bureaucracy stands in the way of prosperity.

[@alphacause]

The more regulations that are instituted the more people you will need to staff regulatory agencies to monitor compliance. Additionally, the more organizations will be needed to create the unnecessary infrastructures to ensure compliance to said regulation. This creates a whole financial boon for certain government agencies and private industries. Its essentially a jobs program and we are fitting the bill.

[@damonf6564]

So it is bureaucracy and middle management; the dream job of all the B.S. 4 year college degrees that are primarily fluff over substance.

[@angelalewis3645]

Yep!

[@ShowLSWH]

Love to see conservatives starting to take on restrictive land use and zoning laws. We have decades of bad urban planning to reverse, but it can be done. Banning the construction of all forms of housing other than single family homes with unnecessary minimum lot sizes and setbacks and parking requirements and massive high rise apartments should be viewed as a policy failure by both the left and right.

[@mikereese15]

Politicians/gov't made things more expensive? You dont say😅

[@Hari983]

Thank you for saying this. When I first came here I thought the astonishing inefficiency of US cities layout was a matter of culture. I was shocked to learn that it was simply illegal to come up with more efficient solutions. To add a few other constrictions: minimum street width limits; building height limit; scarcity of mixed-zoned areas (in most cases building anything other than single family homes is illegal due to strict zoning regulations in the US); the almost nonexistence of adjacent apartment buildings (which can massively increase the walkability and livability of a neighborhood). It is just way too much regulation that stand in the way of organic development of more livable cities.

[@5stardave]

I've lived in apartment buildings and they were anything but livable. If you think walkability means avoiding feces, needles & refuse, maybe.

[@starventure]

The building rules are not the real cause, the lack of land to build on is. And the lack of land is artificially made by politicians and race hustlers who would rather see people live on the street while they line their pockets instead of solving the problem.

[@a_dude1933]

Damn bro got an upgrade. Keep it up

[@doltsbane]

Before you get too excited about those cheap Japanese apartments, I suggest you go take a look at the "A Micro Apartment Life" KZbin channel. I kind of doubt most Americans would find living in them acceptable.

[@1495978707]

Yes, but then market forces would lead people to leave the cities until balance is reached

[@IAmTheEagleHTM]

There's a video about the cheapest apartment in Tokyo. Some people would argue that it's better to be homeless. I disagree, but as a Brazilian, I would indeed not want to live in a box.

[@martinpalm5]

still better than living at home until you can afford a down payment..

[@draighodge6039]

A micro apartment is a temporary dwelling. It should be up to renters and lessors to decide what kind of accommodations are available rather than asking bureaucrats and "stakeholders" to decide what is built.

[@a.williams1945]

Both New York and San Francisco are the most expensive places to live, and both have had the longest rent control laws.

[@nunyabidness3075]

Exactly. Every rule they’ve used to protect renters (and most every rule made to make buying more easy) has resulted in higher costs over the long term. Anyone doubts this, I’m happy to show you using basic economics.

[@starventure]

@@nunyabidness3075 Rent control is not the devil of the story, though. Go look at East New York and Brownsville or the New Lots area of Brooklyn and find the true cause of the crisis.

[@nunyabidness3075]

@@starventure Nope. Not going back to NYC to look. If you have a point, you’ll have to make it.

[@starventure]

@@nunyabidness3075 Ok then. The point is LAND WASTE. And the cause is the anti-gentrification crowd and their social/racial justice lackeys. The land is there, the opportunities are there, but nobody has the guts to speak the truth about it.

[@pierrescheepens8063]

I find this to be a very strange argument as living in the Netherlands the regulations might not be high for this specific case for staircases but overall newly built appartements have very high requirements plus you can not just compare one city to another without mentioning average income of the city he mentioned the median income of the entire US which is a flawed approach as new york's average income is a lot higher. If you compare the average salary in the city to rent spending in said city you will find amsterdam to actually be having the same problem as new york. As for tokyo the average income in japan and also tokyo is much lower than compared to new york however there are more factors involved simply stating that regulations across the entirety of the US cause the cities to be comparatively more expensive neglects a lot of factors. I am no expert but I bet if you made a fair analysis for mega cities outside the US you would find the same problems everywhere.

[@gorilladisco9108]

He did compare the income. Americans apartment is above median income while in Amsterdam it's "just" half the median income.

[@wilm3864]

Monica and Rachel never could have afforded their apartment in real New York.

[@sid2112]

Regulation. It's hard to build cost effective housing when government makes it so expensive to build. Edit: End of video, yep we agree. And there are so many other stupid regulations that could be fixed to make it even cheaper for the tenants AND more profitable for the landlords. Win/win for everyone but the politicians.

[@shanekeenaNYC]

I would rather a city be ugly, big, nearly unrecognizable, but affordable and livable than pristine with high costs and overhead.

[@robedmund9948]

Liberal policies do that, ya know!

[@backstabba]

Of course changing it now will have little effect throughout the next 30 years.

[@sid2112]

@@backstabba Oh I think once government gets out of the way it'll turn around very quickly.

[@scdrescher1]

Like in SF where they tried to build a public toilet and the city said it would cost too much so some tech guy said he’d spring for it and the cost was around $1.2m and when he asked for a cost breakdown and he found that the bathroom cost only around $200k but the rest was fees, permits, and whatever other fluff the government tacked on….yeah, that.

[@saxon6]

The high rise fire in Honolulu in July 2017 killed four and occurred just after the building lobby effectively killed a law requiring sprinkler retrofitting. High rise buildings require a higher level of safety due to increased occupancy, increased reaction time, decreased access, increased setback, etc. Stairways provide the most efficient means of fire spread and allow a relatively controllable space for facilitating rescue and fire attack. They are a critical feature to be built right. I spent 22 years fighting high rise fires. Tread carefully if you advocate rolling back safety codes.

[@--harry_]

After talking to landlord's, I think the a big issue for them is the eviction process. They have to recoup the cost of months of nonpayment... Plus the pandemic allowed renters what 2 years not to pay rent? That has to be recouped somehow.

[@1495978707]

It's not just regulation and rent control, it's also that people want to live at these places because there's lots of people, which has a compounding effect and raises prices

[@dirtyharry5320]

In NYC, they're building those super-tall residential towers, but the flats in those buildings are multi-million dollar flats. If they're going to build that tall, why not have affordable flats for middle-class people?

[@andrewandsueniemeyer6958]

Because luxury condos/flats or low income housing (such as Sec. 8) is the only profitable option

[@davidvavra9113]

It amazes me how we can't do what Krustchev did in the 50s, despite all our advantages.

[@truthseeker9454]

What's that?

[@starventure]

You do NOT want to do that. Oh, wait. The US actually did do that. Once. Go and look up Cabrini Green for a nice heart warming example of how not to do things.

[@elultimo102]

@@starventure ---Being an ex-Chicago boy, I was going to mention that happy place. The sad part is that it was a nice place as built. The gangs and druggies made it a hell hole,

[@starventure]

The reason he cites is a small part of the overall issue. Land waste in the cities is rampant in the US, with whole neighborhoods laying fallow and rotting away, with aged out structures often burned out and boarded up occupying land that could be used for multi-family housing. The reason US cities can get away with this is two fold. First, blighted areas, no matter how good the transit or road access may be, are considered no go areas to developers because of crime. Urban police forces have the means to tackle this, but feckless politicians are the primary obstacle. Secondly, cultural blockading. Accusations of gentrification, racism, and classism are all it takes to wreck the chances of bringing new homes into a dead zone. "The hood" is considered to be an inviolable place by the leadership and media, so even if something is attempted to improve the area, it is seen as a threat.

[@jimwerther]

True, but oversimplified. The issue is regulations - not just the one mentioned, but rent control, zoning, etc.

[@tlow5766]

Everywhere the same. Over here (🇪🇺) regulations are the primary driver of cost for housing. The regulations are not stupid if looked at individually. But the amount is just too damn high.

[@marcv2648]

My city has been obsessed with the lack of affordable housing for over a decade. I've mentioned it in several forums that we need to loosen the building code from so many requirements that make housing much more expensive. Absolutely no one even wants to hear it. They start dismissing it even before you can explain.

[@Nylon_riot]

Everyone thinks there is a magic answer that doesn't require changes. The government treats us like children. The fallout is that people automatically assume the reduction in services means being less safe. The only acceptable answer is more legislation. Everyone likes to think they are rebels, but they really are not. I worked in disaster response, and this is really apparent there. Every solution is to deflect to the authorities. Out of all the money spent on emergency preparedness, almost none of it goes to teaching the individual how to train or prepare themselves. I point this out when people board airplanes. No one will read the emergency landing directions. They assume the plane is built to high standards to keep them safe, or the crew is trained to handle it. But no one takes the initiative to save themselves. That is complete deferment to authority. So whenever you threaten to remove that authority, people get uncomfortable or anxious.

[@SenorJuan2023]

Shame that a long term visa in Japan is hard to get. Would love to live in Tokyo with those rental prices.

[@rickute1458]

dont complain, at least your properties are not over valued by 70%, at the last royal commission into the banks , the banks had to admit that all australian properties are over valued by 70% and they wont build more to help with the housing shortage, because if they do, it will push the prices of houses down and investors will be the first to complain.

[@Tiogar60]

as an urban planner, this is a good take

[@ctreid87]

BEARD...Saturday???😂

[@raylivaldez5564]

There's also a difference, those single stair apartments are made of brick or rock, while American ones require 2 cuz they are made of wood mostly, now they require fire retardant wood and fire safety but are still more flammable thus require more exist just in case, tho i believe that a main single stair well made of concrete and fere detection systems it could be just as safe as European one while being cheaper and faster to build

[@gorilladisco9108]

That, and parking lots.

[@lilywater3683]

You listed absolute rent of each city. They should be compared to average income of the correspondent city, also need to factor in tax and food prices of that particular city

[@5stardave]

Square footage and amenities are another difference. The high price also helps keep the riff raff out. Too many nice buildings (that were artificially made affordable because of government subsidies) became pretty much EPA Superfund sites after the low rent residents moved in.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

Well said.

[@joedennehy386]

They are not 4 times dearer because of an extra staircase.

[@LondonIsBlue1905]

Nice vid like the channel

[@danielgaul284]

Consider also that in cities like Paris they charge cheaper rent because half of citizens’ income goes to the government as taxes to pay for “free” services

[@stvargas69]

Im glad the missus & I moved to a rural part of California. Been getting calls weekly asking if we want to sell. No. I know the price of dirt, and its not gonna get cheaper.

[@johnluiten3686]

Fire safety has always been big in America. Used to live in NYC. What about workarounds like sprinkler systems in lieu of two exits?

[@cataphracts123]

Also highest percentage of extremely wealthy apartments and condos lead to bumping the average up.

[@etherealceleste]

Well... Tokyo appartments can be as small as 95 square feet. yes, 95. Legal size also matters.

[@gingergarden]

That's what i was thinking. Wish the average size of apartments for the price range was mentioned as well.

[@VeritasOmniaVincit176]

I like how he snuck a grammar lesson right at the end… 😅

[@raylivaldez5564]

Sth to take in account is that most areas are zoned for single family housing only even if theres demand and the economics to actually are there. Most burocrats don't change those cuz people want to retain their inflated home values and they know that allowing for more Suply would make them cheaper.

[@mandywinter8871]

Are American cities still the most expensive if you adjust for average income?

[@armorbearer9702]

(3:16) Is this because there are fewer apartment fires or is the single set of stairs good enough for everyone to evacuate safely?

[@ProductBasement]

That and it's only economically feasible to build luxury apartments due to rent control

[@Anti-CornLawLeague]

And get rid of zoning laws. Boomer Becky at the city council would go insane on how that would decrease her property value. Homeowners want building restrictions as a form of protectionism against declining real estate values.

[@billdavis2788]

It's NOT 4 times less. Times is multiplying . Multiplication ALWAYS is an increase. Unless you use a fraction or percentage less than 100%. Please say 1/3 or 33% if that's what the comparison is. NOT 3 times less. If that's what you were taught in math class at school, you attended a school using a dumbed down curriculum.

[@Snagglepuss03756]

Sq ft comparison, or cost per square ft might be better.

[@karlostj4683]

The basic reason is more simple than staircases. The basic reason is: Government interference in the housing marketplace. "The Death of Common Sense" by Philip Howard is a great read - its introduction is about how a charity started by Mother Theresa gave up its attempt to create a homeless shelter in NYC.

[@starventure]

In NYC or outside NYC?

[@karlostj4683]

@@starventure Both

[@starventure]

@@karlostj4683 Yow. There is no where to run to.

[@karlostj4683]

@@starventure And nowhere to hide!

[@bellejardins7915]

Why do so many sovereign western nations seem to be following the same playbook, with similar policies and trends?

[@Munce72]

Great work Nick! Scooby snacks for you. Praying for Israel and the entire Middle East. My allegiance is to Liberty, and the Repubic.

[@anon9364]

Interesting. I thought you were going to say rent control.

[@Inquisitor6321]

I would say that property taxes also contribute to the skyrocketed cost of renting apartments in the cities. I think FAR MORE than stair cases.

[@maxvarjagen9810]

Yeah but europe has way higher property taxes. The main reason rent is so high at the moment is a real estate bubble. They dont want to lower rents because it would make the building look less valuable to banks and lenders, and people would rather take on massive loans than make real money.

[@alaskayoung3413]

Man KZbin is banning damn near every comment these days…. Bout time to hit up rumble I guess.

[@peterescalante1207]

Apples and oranges. Over simplified "analysis" given the impact of numerous special interests protecting their investments and positions in the U.S. alongside the social, political, economic, cultural and infrastructure differences between the U.S. and Europe.

[@terrygregory3456]

Because of all of the regulations from the unelected bureaucrats!

[@nkristianschmidt]

quote the legislation links in the description

[@stevenfrasier5718]

"few" vs. "less" ?

[@SamBrickell]

> "more" housing (due to "fewer" restrictions)... not "less" [housing]. My summary of what he's saying at *3:33* (I agree it was a confusing way he said it, and I had to rewind to listen to it again.)

[@lothean2099]

It comes down to greed

[@truthseeker9454]

Do you exempt yourself from this charge?

[@starventure]

Greed? BS. This is fear, nothing else. If greed was behind the wheel, this would have been solved long ago. Fear is in control of the housing market.

[@georgegonzalez-rivas3787]

Sorry. This is nonsense. I've lived and traveled in many parts of the world and places like Tokyo and London are far, FAR, more expensive than even NY rents. Perhaps this is skewed by the tiny size of Tokyo apartments... I'd have to dig into the data.

[@verrico7536]

I agree that this is the reality of why there is a lack of denser neighbourhoods in the US. The issue is that when politicians try to promote urban zoning and living, they get attacked as "15 minute cities" by conspiracy theorists....

[@ShowLSWH]

Have you seen the videos of Randall O’Toole from the Cato institute giving speeches about how building walkable mixed use neighbourhoods is actually a plot by the government to make it easier to bomb civilians? It’s hilarious.

[@starventure]

There is nothing wrong with 15 minutes cities on paper. The idea is perfectly sound. What ruins it is the harsh reality of life in the US, and the fear Americans have because of their painful awareness of it.

[@Lolly4twDasOrginal]

Everything is worth what the buyer is ok to pay.

[@user-ie5mk1qq8g]

Conservative areas are cheaper cuz... ya know... capitalism

[@JazzJackrabbit]

You alright, dude? It sounds like your nose is plugged.