There is no housing crisis in MoCo or most of the DMV for that matter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

I live in silver spring and to hear people talk it’s unaffordable here too.

Prices in Silver Spring have doubled in the last 10 years.

Which is historically normal?

Based on what?

Have incomes doubled in the last 10 years for the same jobs? Especially for middle class earners?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

Or, we could enable the housing supply to increase to meet demand, so that everyone is able to afford housing, not just certain people deemed worthy of receiving public subsidies so they can afford housing they would otherwise be unable to afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

Or, we could enable the housing supply to increase to meet demand, so that everyone is able to afford housing, not just certain people deemed worthy of receiving public subsidies so they can afford housing they would otherwise be unable to afford.

There already is enough supply. That’s the point. It’s just that people entitled to own a 4 bedroom home with a garage in an expensive area of the country. They feel like they’re above living in a 2-3 BR apartment, which there are plenty of available. Or they are too picky with location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

They make a good income but they cannot afford a $500K house. They probably don't have much of a downpayment or savings and if they have child care that would not work. Maybe $350K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

Or, we could enable the housing supply to increase to meet demand, so that everyone is able to afford housing, not just certain people deemed worthy of receiving public subsidies so they can afford housing they would otherwise be unable to afford.

There already is enough supply. That’s the point. It’s just that people entitled to own a 4 bedroom home with a garage in an expensive area of the country. They feel like they’re above living in a 2-3 BR apartment, which there are plenty of available. Or they are too picky with location.

Many apartments are $2-4K, so that's not any cheaper than buying a house. And, condo's and townhouses have high HOA fees so that doesn't make sense either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

They make a good income but they cannot afford a $500K house. They probably don't have much of a downpayment or savings and if they have child care that would not work. Maybe $350K.

Then they need to not have childcare costs by not having children until a bit later. Like I did and every single working professional on my street did. Zero of us -- zero -- had ANY "childcare costs" when we were 25 years old [4 yrs experience ^^ plus minimum age for MoCo police application = 21 yrs https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/jobs/pol-officer-benefits.html ]

You want to have your children when you're really young? Great! The uterus is healthier and parents will likely have more energy. But your salaries will be lower than they will be when you're ~31. That's a choice you are making, willingly By your actions, you've boxed yourself out of an otherwise affordable on your salary $500k home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

They make a good income but they cannot afford a $500K house. They probably don't have much of a downpayment or savings and if they have child care that would not work. Maybe $350K.

Great! Save up 20% of that 130k salary for 5-10yrs and they are in good shape.

[Anonymous]

No housing shortage, just a bunch of woke idiots trying to get zoning changes to get rid of single family homes in favor of multi-family units. Take your socialism somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What we need are more 3-4 bedroom apartments and condos, but zoning requirements make build them hard. They typically need to be larger buildings with long main hallways with a set of stairs on either end for fire safety. Instead we get lots of luxury 2 bedroom units since they are easy to build and accommodate in a structure.

Part of this is that many families with children don't want to live in apartments. People want a house with a yard for their kids to play in and it is also more profitable to rent out smaller units. https://www.westgaterents.com/apartments/va/manassas/floor-plans#/
Look at these apartments in Manassas for example. The monthly rent per sq. ft is the highest for a loft ($3.73 per sq. ft) and the lowest for a 3 bedroom (2.38 per sq. ft). There is clearly less demand for 3bd+ apartment units because families with children are less interested in them and most people prefer not to have roommates. If 3bd+ apartments were truly in high demand landlords would be able rent them for more money. Stair reform is not necessarily a bad idea (for buildings 5 stories or less), but I think this would predominately result in more 1 to 2 bd units.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

Or, we could enable the housing supply to increase to meet demand, so that everyone is able to afford housing, not just certain people deemed worthy of receiving public subsidies so they can afford housing they would otherwise be unable to afford.

Yeah, that will never happen, so let's just focus on the worthy people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people not understand there’s a shit ton of cheap housing in this area? PG, most of Silver Spring (it’s a massive area), Gaithersburg, etc? No one needs to move to Iowa. You just maybe can’t afford to live in Bethesda. Neither can I.

Define "cheap".

I don't understand why people believe this is a "Evearyone wants to live in Bethesda!!!!!!11111" problem.

The median Montgomery household ($125,000) can barely afford a townhouse in Clarksburg($500,000ish).

Denying the housing crisis is the new denying the crime crisis.

Which is why it’s a GOOD thing that developers are focusing on building more apartments and condos that the middle class can actually afford. Not everyone can afford or should be trying to buy a house. I’m sorry but it’s true.

Real middle class cannot afford $500K.

Real middle class in metro DC can. Two government workers are easily making 150-250k.

Two police officers making 160k combined can afford a 500k house. It may be tight but they can easily do it.

You're describing the upper range of government pay, not purely middle class. And certainly not young-family middle class.

No I’m not. Per MCPD(below). Two first year officers are making 130k+. That’s solid middle class and can afford a 500k home. Stop complaining about nothing.


Starting Salary for police officer candidates is $64,556 a year. Starting salaries based on police or military police experience:
$66,818 – 1 year experience
$69,156– 2 years experience
$71,576 – 3 years experience
$74,081– 4 years experience
$76,678 – 5 years experience

I am fine with rental breaks and house buying incentives (subsidized) for providers. No need to create housing, just give them a subsidy, tax break, mortgage boost or what not for regular rate housing. They make great neighbors anywhere. And then we can stop complaining they cant afford to live where they work.

+1. Everyone always brings up police officers, firefighters, and teachers. If there are certain professions where we've determined that they add value to neighborhoods, just give them appropriate incentives to buy housing. Could also help with the shortages in those professions. Seems like we keep having "affordable housing" as a goal, and we always bring up these professions, but is it reaching those people? We single out certain types of jobs in other areas (like public interest forgiveness for student loans), so it's not unprecedented to do something like this.

But that's not Marxist enough for the communists who complain about housing.