Christopher Bryant wrote: "Does the rent a landlord charges reflect the total cost, taxes, and amenities offered, or simply what the market will bear? That is my question. As I reflect on both the affordable housing issue, and also view the wide discrepancy in rents charged for same/similar rental properties in Minneapolis, I must confess to being confused as to whether or not landlords are even aware of the housing shortage and/or whether they are taking advantage of people financially due to the shortage."
My response: The short answer from Economics 101: prices (rents) are set by the intersection of supply and demand. In the Twin Cities, demand (fueled by increases in population and employment) has been increasing faster than supply and so rents have been going up. Of course, I think the question was meant to be rhetorical, but it's disingenuous to blame the property owners for rising rents. If there wasn't someone willing to pay more, rents wouldn't be rising. In places like Overland Park, KS, rents are falling because too much has been built. In Silicon Valley and Las Vegas, rents are falling because employment (thus demand) has dropped. In fact, Las Vegas property managers are trying to ease the rent burden of laid-off tenants, but even that is being driven more by economics than altruism. Despite what some believe, property managers don't like to lose tenants because turnover costs money. So what does that mean for Minneapolis? If we want to reasonably-priced nonsubsidized (market rate) apartments we need to increase the supply at ALL rent levels, or those making more $ will bid up the rents and replace those making less and the middle class renters will move to places like Woodbury to find an apartment they can afford. That means (1) neighborhoods need to support infill apartment development in appropriate locations and (2) nonfinancial neighborhood support for development cannot be limited to projects rent restricted at 30% of median income (which cuts off any two-person household making more than $18,420). John Rocker CARAG _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
