moulpikala
@moulpikala.bsky.social
Thanks for the reference!
September 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Thanks for the reference!
Not sure any poll conducted under the current circumstances can be taken credibly from a statistical point of view (selection and various biases) let alone from an ethical point of view.
September 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Not sure any poll conducted under the current circumstances can be taken credibly from a statistical point of view (selection and various biases) let alone from an ethical point of view.
So single-stair/PAB and the various other building code reforms that frequently get brought up expand the set of possibilities. And only then is it possible to properly talk about counter-factuals.
September 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
So single-stair/PAB and the various other building code reforms that frequently get brought up expand the set of possibilities. And only then is it possible to properly talk about counter-factuals.
I think the crux of these exchanges highlight the extent markets cannot explain the entirety of housing market outcomes. There is a lot that comes from path dependency, cultural norms and rules that prevent outside the box solutions. These are equilibria in constrained sets, not the entire space.
September 5, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I think the crux of these exchanges highlight the extent markets cannot explain the entirety of housing market outcomes. There is a lot that comes from path dependency, cultural norms and rules that prevent outside the box solutions. These are equilibria in constrained sets, not the entire space.
For example, Toronto has a lot of <500sqft condos that are struggling to sell. Combining 2+ adjacent units suddenly creates more desirable apartments. Yet, this possibility does not exist in the minds of city planning or is even actively proposed by real estate people.
September 5, 2025 at 9:04 AM
For example, Toronto has a lot of <500sqft condos that are struggling to sell. Combining 2+ adjacent units suddenly creates more desirable apartments. Yet, this possibility does not exist in the minds of city planning or is even actively proposed by real estate people.
It's also for natural light.
September 5, 2025 at 8:32 AM
It's also for natural light.
And the readon it is not is not because of demand but because of cumbersome/strict prevention by city planning.
September 5, 2025 at 8:28 AM
And the readon it is not is not because of demand but because of cumbersome/strict prevention by city planning.
What are RS units? My understanding is this is a but more common in NYC but not at all in Canada or the west coast.
September 5, 2025 at 8:26 AM
What are RS units? My understanding is this is a but more common in NYC but not at all in Canada or the west coast.
The legal/regulatory ability to combine or separate units is something we need to see more of. The walls are literally paper-thin so should be quite feasible.
September 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
The legal/regulatory ability to combine or separate units is something we need to see more of. The walls are literally paper-thin so should be quite feasible.
The examples that you mention from Alon as end units with cross-ventilation only really work in larger floor plates (more typical of NA condo construction where you do see token 2-3bdrm units like that).
September 4, 2025 at 12:04 PM
The examples that you mention from Alon as end units with cross-ventilation only really work in larger floor plates (more typical of NA condo construction where you do see token 2-3bdrm units like that).
My intuition is that when SFH supply is very elastic, you don't get a lot of nicer larger unit construction in multi-family homes. And hence single-stair/cross-ventilation is less binding as market tends to studios/1-bedrooms.
September 4, 2025 at 12:04 PM
My intuition is that when SFH supply is very elastic, you don't get a lot of nicer larger unit construction in multi-family homes. And hence single-stair/cross-ventilation is less binding as market tends to studios/1-bedrooms.
I don't have a great enough sense of the data on SFH in SF/NYC, but my perception was that starts are relatively low. The SFH suburbs there are not recent constructions.
September 4, 2025 at 12:03 PM
I don't have a great enough sense of the data on SFH in SF/NYC, but my perception was that starts are relatively low. The SFH suburbs there are not recent constructions.
I would be more curious to understand SF/NYC where this is less the case and in Toronto/Vancouver where the growing narrative is that studio apartment prices are dropping because they are not aimed for owner occupation and yet multi-family units are failing to emerge despite demand in SFH.
September 4, 2025 at 10:35 AM
I would be more curious to understand SF/NYC where this is less the case and in Toronto/Vancouver where the growing narrative is that studio apartment prices are dropping because they are not aimed for owner occupation and yet multi-family units are failing to emerge despite demand in SFH.
Still think that US evidence is more challenging to disentangle because of density and exurban development capacity that exists as substitutes for most of the country.
September 4, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Still think that US evidence is more challenging to disentangle because of density and exurban development capacity that exists as substitutes for most of the country.
I personally would find a 2/3-bdrm less appealing in a typical NA building than a EU one with better light/airflow. The fact that this does not exist in the US/Canada, maybe results in an induced demand effect if it did. More appealing 2-bdrm/3-bdrms maybe increases their potential appeal/demand.
September 3, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I personally would find a 2/3-bdrm less appealing in a typical NA building than a EU one with better light/airflow. The fact that this does not exist in the US/Canada, maybe results in an induced demand effect if it did. More appealing 2-bdrm/3-bdrms maybe increases their potential appeal/demand.
What I mean is that a single facade is less problematic in a studio/1-bdrm compared to a single facade vs double/triple facade 2/3 bdrm unit.
September 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
What I mean is that a single facade is less problematic in a studio/1-bdrm compared to a single facade vs double/triple facade 2/3 bdrm unit.
Thanks, those are useful. This makes me think the argument on unit size is less binding, but you would also think that building typology (single-stair and floor plate efficiency) should also play some role in making desirable apartments.
September 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Thanks, those are useful. This makes me think the argument on unit size is less binding, but you would also think that building typology (single-stair and floor plate efficiency) should also play some role in making desirable apartments.
Toronto has already hit its limits though. You're right in that it previously soaked up demand up from 1980s to late 2000s, early 2010s. But since then, the greenbelt limits have been reached and single-family home prices have sky-rocketed tremendously (relative to wages).
September 3, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Toronto has already hit its limits though. You're right in that it previously soaked up demand up from 1980s to late 2000s, early 2010s. But since then, the greenbelt limits have been reached and single-family home prices have sky-rocketed tremendously (relative to wages).
Was thinking of this map in particular on density that really show the difference between US/Canadian cities.
bsky.app/profile/dawe...
bsky.app/profile/dawe...
Compare Michigan and Ontario on the Global Human Settlement Layer database
September 3, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Was thinking of this map in particular on density that really show the difference between US/Canadian cities.
bsky.app/profile/dawe...
bsky.app/profile/dawe...
I don't think so. Toronto has a greenbelt that limits exurbs and Vancouver has geographic limits. And unlike the US, the labour mobility-housing affordability vector is significantly concentrated in a couple superstar cities (no Chicagoland affordable alternative). I agree on unit composition.
September 3, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I don't think so. Toronto has a greenbelt that limits exurbs and Vancouver has geographic limits. And unlike the US, the labour mobility-housing affordability vector is significantly concentrated in a couple superstar cities (no Chicagoland affordable alternative). I agree on unit composition.
Also no mortgage tax deduction in Canada as well.
September 3, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Also no mortgage tax deduction in Canada as well.
Canada seems to me the most interesting case-study to dig into this more. Similar to the US in terms of building code regs. But more similar to EU in terms of density/suburban constraints. Yet has similar unit size construction as US.
September 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Canada seems to me the most interesting case-study to dig into this more. Similar to the US in terms of building code regs. But more similar to EU in terms of density/suburban constraints. Yet has similar unit size construction as US.
In particular if you consider Canada which has similar building code restrictions. Canadian cities do not share any similarity to the US for exurban growth (Toronto/Vancouver in particular) that could supply single-family homes, and yet faces the same problematic under supply of 2-3bdrm units.
September 3, 2025 at 11:28 AM
In particular if you consider Canada which has similar building code restrictions. Canadian cities do not share any similarity to the US for exurban growth (Toronto/Vancouver in particular) that could supply single-family homes, and yet faces the same problematic under supply of 2-3bdrm units.
Whereas in the EU, easing this restriction leads to greater supply of 2-3bdrm units. I wouldn't think that preferences in the US are so inherently radically different to lead to such a bifurcation purely due to demand reasons.
September 3, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Whereas in the EU, easing this restriction leads to greater supply of 2-3bdrm units. I wouldn't think that preferences in the US are so inherently radically different to lead to such a bifurcation purely due to demand reasons.
Their point is that this is a local equilibrium resultant from both a building code restriction and construction techniques that do not allow for single stair/PAB which would result in a lower floor plate.
September 3, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Their point is that this is a local equilibrium resultant from both a building code restriction and construction techniques that do not allow for single stair/PAB which would result in a lower floor plate.