Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironhorse
One thing I don't see being built is cheap starter homes. The one we had in Ogden had vinyl flooring, straight counters with no island or L shapes, basic cupboards and a formica counter top. Interior doors went floor to ceiling to save on framing and drywall costs. These days everything seems to be focused on "luxury". You have to start out somewhere...
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The problem with the desire for "cheap starter homes" is that you need someone to build them. If a developer's land cost is X and they can charge another $50-100,000 per unit by installing $15k worth of "granite and hardwood", they're going to do it.
When the majority of build costs are the same (land, foundation, framing, etc all costs roughly the same whether you're building a $250k row houses, or $500k units). The gravy for builders comes from putting lipstick on that pig, and as long as the market buys it up, there is less than zero incentive for a builder to leave out these features to reduce prices and make things more affordable.
I have a hard time taking anyone seriously that thinks this change will have a meaningful impact on affordability. This might be the city's greatest ever gift to developers and it's insane that more people don't see it for that.