Madeline wrote: > I don't have stats to back this up, but I suspect there is more supply than > demand. I also suspect that a percentage of the folks buying the lofts because it's > a trend will bail within a few years, especially given crime the situation in the > warehouse district, and the lack of the other needed businesses and services.
Nick Responds: With new projects opening their sales offices, the supply would appear to be exceed the demand since many of the projects being sold aren't going to open for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years from now. So we are seeing a supply that doesn't reflect only the units that are currently habitable. A nice thing about financing these days is that most lenders will not release construction loans until buildings are 50% presold so non-viable projects generally shouldn't get built. Also I don't see how people living in a dense urban area is a trend. These are not all identical products just because they are all called lofts. They range from very small to quite large, high-rise v. low-rise, new v. rehab, traditional finishes v. more industrial, downtown view v. courtyards v. riverview etc.. There is more diversity amongst them than there is in a lot of minneapolis neighborhoods. Furthermore how do you suppose that people would bail? Are they going sell at a loss? That just doesn't seem plausible. I think we'll see the services emerge as the developments get done. There is nothing to indicate that some business won't show up when the population is sufficient. It just seems to me that the worst case scenario is that the city adds housing units, downtown has a little more built in activity and the market flattens which means prices can stay reasonable. On the upside the housing boom could continue and we could actually have an area in the city with real vibrancy to compare to larger cities. I am quite fond of the Meyer, Scherer, Rockcastle designed Mill City Museum too. They actually designed the building I live in and Garth Rockcastle moved in too. Nick Frank North Loop REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
