Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
How was the labour shortage in the late 80s?
I bet it was easier to find people to actually build homes then than it is now.
|
It didn't matter because housing starts absolutely tanked in the '90s once property prices peaked. Tradespeople were desperate for work and many had to change careers.
That era had basically the same pressures as now. Fast population growth and historically unafforadble housing, yet prices dropped and affordability improved significantly despite the rate of new builds in the ensuring years falling off a cliff.
Why did that happen? Because it wasn't a matter of supply being inadequate. If it was, then prices wouldn't have dropped and then stagnated for the next decade and a half during a period of slow construction and relatively fast population growth. Prices were driven up by speculation, a hot economy, and low (for the era) interest rates. Once those factors changed and there was a recession (which there always is eventually), housing became much more affordable. There's no real structural reason why that can't or won't happen again.