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Vtjeannieb t1_jdiohtg wrote

Reply to comment by liquorcabinetkid in A critique of Brave Little State's segment on Airbnbs by headgasketidiot

Longtime Vermonter here, and someone who was involved in the housing business. Builders have always built for the top of the market because it’s easier to make a profit. Those who built for entry-level properties generally had a larger parcel of land they could subdivide and build multiple units.

But as much as we’d like to see more affordable housing, the more expensive homes do have the function of allowing people to move out of their starter homes into something that better fits their needs. I’m an example of this. When I bought my first home, I couldn’t afford to live in the area I wanted. But after a few years, I saved some bucks and developed more equity , and was able to sell my little starter home to someone who was just thrilled, and moved to a larger home in my preferred area.

This cycle worked for many years, at least in Northern VT. It’s been disrupted lately by more nonVermonters moving in, more corporate investors, and homes converted into short term rentals.

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columbo928s4 t1_jdje1uw wrote

> the more expensive homes do have the function of allowing people to move out of their starter homes into something that better fits their needs.

another way to look at this is that unlike the working class, if upper-income people want to buy a house, they are going to buy a house. so if there is no new-build luxury housing available, they're instead going to purchase homes that otherwise would have gone to lower-market buyers. this has happened in a lot of desirable cities that have underbuilt for decades; houses and apartments that at first look would seem to be part of the market for the working class and first-time buyers have instead been bid up on and purchased by upper-class buyers because there is so little higher-end housing available. so while luxury housing might not be what we want to see built, allowing those units to go up takes a lot of pressure off of the lower end of the market

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SnooMaps1313 t1_jdkmlam wrote

Someone (from Rhode Island if their license plate is an indication) in my NNE neighborhood recently bought a little house identical to ours, which was at the bottom of market pricing in late 2020. Then they built onto it this past year and essentially doubled its size and amenities. That starter home has been converted and removed from the starter home market forever.

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GrittyPrettySitty t1_jdmytny wrote

>This cycle worked for many years, at least in Northern VT

That cycle worked because of the population boom from the boomers.

Also, normalizing changing locations to get to a "better place" or a more desirable place seems to be an acceptance that we are not trying to make every place better overall.

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