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Stupid Obama voters overbuilt in big houses, planners find. 40 million houses too many.
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Too_Many_Tools
May 9, 2013, 3:39:58 AM5/9/13
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Greedy Obama voters. Built houses for an economy that was
already dead thanks to the idiot they voted for.
America has too many big houses -- 40 million, to be exact --
because consumers are shifting preferences to condos, apartments
and small homes, experts told the New Partners for Smart Growth
Thursday, holding its 11th annual conference in San Diego
through Sunday.
Relying on developers' surveys, Chris Nelson, who heads the
Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah, said 43
percent of Americans prefer traditional big, suburban homes but
the rest don't.
"That means we are out of balance in terms of where the market
is right now, let alone trending toward the future," he said.
He estimated that this demand suggests a need for 10 million
more attached homes and 30 million more small homes on 4,000-
square-foot lots or less. By contrast, demand for large-lot
homes is 40 million less than currently available.
"Is it any wonder that suburban homes are plummeting in price,
because there is far less demand of those homes than in the
past," he said.
Shyam Kannan, director of the economic development practice at
the Robert Charles Lesser & Co. consulting firm, said his
company made its money in recent decades in advising builders of
suburban master-planned communities. But that emphasis is
shifting with consumer patterns.
"Many master-plan developers realize golf courses are dead and
the town center is in, and they're working as hard as they can
to deliver it," he said. "Unfortunately, they're bumping up
against entitlement problems on the public side more often than
not... We need to push public policy to keep up with the
builders."
Joe Molinaro, who heads the smart growth program at the National
Association of Realtors, shared the results of 2004 and 2011
consumer surveys to explain why preferences are changing.
Factors include a desire for shorter commutes, walkable
neighborhoods, economic considerations and, in the case of
Generations X and Y, born between 1965 and 2000, they want the
non-car mobility they did not get as youngsters.
"Having the freedom not to be tied down to a vehicle all the
time is a big plus to that generation," Molinaro said.
"Smart growth," loosely defined as nonsprawling developments
that minimize distances, maximize public infrastructure
investment returns and promote environmental sustainability, has
been a buzzword in planning circles since the 1990s.
But with growth in all forms stalled for the last few years,
planners, developers and investors are pondering how things will
shape up with the inevitable upturn occurs.
"If we are optimistic that the world is not coming to an end and
we're going to get out of this economic trough, it's a good time
to consider, when production does ramp up, how we will be
building as a country," Molinaro said.
The conference at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina on
Harbor Island has drawn about 1,350 local, regional and national
experts, who are mixing days of seminars with tours of San Diego
neighborhoods to see smart growth in action.
"The San Diego region is an innovative pioneer in the smart
growth movement," said Judy Corbett, executive director of the
California-based Local Government Commission that is sponsoring
the conference.
She said San Diego offers plenty of examples for transit-
oriented, compact development; transformed downtown and old
neighborhoods; walkable, mixed-use "urban villages: and high-
tech, telecommunications and clean-tech businesses.
"San Diego is one of the most livable and sustainable major
metropolitan areas in the nation," she said.
Among the tours was one led by former San Diego City Councilman
Scott Peters, who showed off the roundabouts on La Jolla
Boulevard in Bird Rock, which were built to calm down traffic
without creating traffic jams. Peters, who is now a port
commissioner, previously represented the Bird Rock-La Jolla area
and is now running for Congress.
Two seminars are focusing on San Diego specifically, the
"battle" for planning, as long-term needs clash with short-term
city budget constraints; and the evolution locally of smart-
growth initiatives, inclusionary housing and the influence of
nonprofit organizations.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders had been invited to address the
conference but his office said he was unable to attend today's
plenary session.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/Feb/02/us-overbuilt-big-
houses-planners-find/2/?#article-copy
already dead thanks to the idiot they voted for.
America has too many big houses -- 40 million, to be exact --
because consumers are shifting preferences to condos, apartments
and small homes, experts told the New Partners for Smart Growth
Thursday, holding its 11th annual conference in San Diego
through Sunday.
Relying on developers' surveys, Chris Nelson, who heads the
Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah, said 43
percent of Americans prefer traditional big, suburban homes but
the rest don't.
"That means we are out of balance in terms of where the market
is right now, let alone trending toward the future," he said.
He estimated that this demand suggests a need for 10 million
more attached homes and 30 million more small homes on 4,000-
square-foot lots or less. By contrast, demand for large-lot
homes is 40 million less than currently available.
"Is it any wonder that suburban homes are plummeting in price,
because there is far less demand of those homes than in the
past," he said.
Shyam Kannan, director of the economic development practice at
the Robert Charles Lesser & Co. consulting firm, said his
company made its money in recent decades in advising builders of
suburban master-planned communities. But that emphasis is
shifting with consumer patterns.
"Many master-plan developers realize golf courses are dead and
the town center is in, and they're working as hard as they can
to deliver it," he said. "Unfortunately, they're bumping up
against entitlement problems on the public side more often than
not... We need to push public policy to keep up with the
builders."
Joe Molinaro, who heads the smart growth program at the National
Association of Realtors, shared the results of 2004 and 2011
consumer surveys to explain why preferences are changing.
Factors include a desire for shorter commutes, walkable
neighborhoods, economic considerations and, in the case of
Generations X and Y, born between 1965 and 2000, they want the
non-car mobility they did not get as youngsters.
"Having the freedom not to be tied down to a vehicle all the
time is a big plus to that generation," Molinaro said.
"Smart growth," loosely defined as nonsprawling developments
that minimize distances, maximize public infrastructure
investment returns and promote environmental sustainability, has
been a buzzword in planning circles since the 1990s.
But with growth in all forms stalled for the last few years,
planners, developers and investors are pondering how things will
shape up with the inevitable upturn occurs.
"If we are optimistic that the world is not coming to an end and
we're going to get out of this economic trough, it's a good time
to consider, when production does ramp up, how we will be
building as a country," Molinaro said.
The conference at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina on
Harbor Island has drawn about 1,350 local, regional and national
experts, who are mixing days of seminars with tours of San Diego
neighborhoods to see smart growth in action.
"The San Diego region is an innovative pioneer in the smart
growth movement," said Judy Corbett, executive director of the
California-based Local Government Commission that is sponsoring
the conference.
She said San Diego offers plenty of examples for transit-
oriented, compact development; transformed downtown and old
neighborhoods; walkable, mixed-use "urban villages: and high-
tech, telecommunications and clean-tech businesses.
"San Diego is one of the most livable and sustainable major
metropolitan areas in the nation," she said.
Among the tours was one led by former San Diego City Councilman
Scott Peters, who showed off the roundabouts on La Jolla
Boulevard in Bird Rock, which were built to calm down traffic
without creating traffic jams. Peters, who is now a port
commissioner, previously represented the Bird Rock-La Jolla area
and is now running for Congress.
Two seminars are focusing on San Diego specifically, the
"battle" for planning, as long-term needs clash with short-term
city budget constraints; and the evolution locally of smart-
growth initiatives, inclusionary housing and the influence of
nonprofit organizations.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders had been invited to address the
conference but his office said he was unable to attend today's
plenary session.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/Feb/02/us-overbuilt-big-
houses-planners-find/2/?#article-copy
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