Do you have any advice re: fighting popups/popbacks, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

If you replace single-family homes with condos, people with children will leave. No one with kids wants to live in a condo. They'll move to the suburbs, which will add to the sprawl and make traffic worse. And then DC will become one of those near-child-free cities like San Francisco and NYC. This presumption that parents will be happy to move into a condo with their kids seems like a strange presumption that people without children always make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

The reason housing prices go up so fast in DC is because of the Federal Reserve. It's not the supply of houses. When the Fed holds interest rates this low for this long, it means lots of people can qualify for huge mortgages. Lots of people able to get huge mortgages means lots of people bidding up the prices of homes. When interest rates return to normal levels, all of that will stop. People won't be able to get such big mortgages, which means fewer people bidding on homes, which means prices will go down. It's weird that people get so fixated on the supply of houses. Yes, that matters but only over the long term. If you're concerned about your grandchildren being able to afford a place, you should focus on the supply. But if you're interested in prices now and over the next, say, 10 years, you should be focused on the Fed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

The reason housing prices go up so fast in DC is because of the Federal Reserve. It's not the supply of houses. When the Fed holds interest rates this low for this long, it means lots of people can qualify for huge mortgages. Lots of people able to get huge mortgages means lots of people bidding up the prices of homes. When interest rates return to normal levels, all of that will stop. People won't be able to get such big mortgages, which means fewer people bidding on homes, which means prices will go down. It's weird that people get so fixated on the supply of houses. Yes, that matters but only over the long term. If you're concerned about your grandchildren being able to afford a place, you should focus on the supply. But if you're interested in prices now and over the next, say, 10 years, you should be focused on the Fed.

I strongly disagree with trying to point the blame on one factor, like Fed rates. It's a constellation of factors that contribute to the recent increase in housing prices.

In my opinion, the biggest driver is increased demand and lack of supply. More people have moved into this region over the past decade. And - perhaps even more importantly - Millennials have come of-age and need housing to start families. This has led to a quick appreciation of prices.

So, combine the demographics, population increases, restrictive zoning that are decades out-of-date, and low Fed rates. This all contributes to upward pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

If you replace single-family homes with condos, people with children will leave. No one with kids wants to live in a condo. They'll move to the suburbs, which will add to the sprawl and make traffic worse. And then DC will become one of those near-child-free cities like San Francisco and NYC. This presumption that parents will be happy to move into a condo with their kids seems like a strange presumption that people without children always make.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/san-francisco-children.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

The reason housing prices go up so fast in DC is because of the Federal Reserve. It's not the supply of houses. When the Fed holds interest rates this low for this long, it means lots of people can qualify for huge mortgages. Lots of people able to get huge mortgages means lots of people bidding up the prices of homes. When interest rates return to normal levels, all of that will stop. People won't be able to get such big mortgages, which means fewer people bidding on homes, which means prices will go down. It's weird that people get so fixated on the supply of houses. Yes, that matters but only over the long term. If you're concerned about your grandchildren being able to afford a place, you should focus on the supply. But if you're interested in prices now and over the next, say, 10 years, you should be focused on the Fed.

I strongly disagree with trying to point the blame on one factor, like Fed rates. It's a constellation of factors that contribute to the recent increase in housing prices.

In my opinion, the biggest driver is increased demand and lack of supply. More people have moved into this region over the past decade. And - perhaps even more importantly - Millennials have come of-age and need housing to start families. This has led to a quick appreciation of prices.

So, combine the demographics, population increases, restrictive zoning that are decades out-of-date, and low Fed rates. This all contributes to upward pressure.

THERE AREN'T EVEN THAT MANY PEOPLE IN DC. In July, 2018, there were 702,000 people here, according to the census. Guess how many people lived here in 1950? 802,000. DC's population is way down from where it was in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I don't understand why people think the city is bursting at the seams. it's not.

[Anonymous]

Move to the country on 50 acres

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Move to the country on 50 acres

Thanks, Mr. Real Estate Developer. That's very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

The reason housing prices go up so fast in DC is because of the Federal Reserve. It's not the supply of houses. When the Fed holds interest rates this low for this long, it means lots of people can qualify for huge mortgages. Lots of people able to get huge mortgages means lots of people bidding up the prices of homes. When interest rates return to normal levels, all of that will stop. People won't be able to get such big mortgages, which means fewer people bidding on homes, which means prices will go down. It's weird that people get so fixated on the supply of houses. Yes, that matters but only over the long term. If you're concerned about your grandchildren being able to afford a place, you should focus on the supply. But if you're interested in prices now and over the next, say, 10 years, you should be focused on the Fed.

I strongly disagree with trying to point the blame on one factor, like Fed rates. It's a constellation of factors that contribute to the recent increase in housing prices.

In my opinion, the biggest driver is increased demand and lack of supply. More people have moved into this region over the past decade. And - perhaps even more importantly - Millennials have come of-age and need housing to start families. This has led to a quick appreciation of prices.

So, combine the demographics, population increases, restrictive zoning that are decades out-of-date, and low Fed rates. This all contributes to upward pressure.

THERE AREN'T EVEN THAT MANY PEOPLE IN DC. In July, 2018, there were 702,000 people here, according to the census. Guess how many people lived here in 1950? 802,000. DC's population is way down from where it was in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I don't understand why people think the city is bursting at the seams. it's not.

Many of the rowhouses you see today housed 10+ people back in the first half of the 20th century. Larger families, boarding houses, multiple families in one home - this was the norm. The trends today are less people with more space; this is the aspiration. And is especially true among the graying owners of SFHs in nicer neighborhoods, where a widow will live alone in a 5BR house for 20 years. Many of the longtime owners are not downsizing while simultaneously struggling to keep up maintenance.

We bought our 5BR house in NW DC from a couple that was 90 years old. They owned the house for nearly 50 years. This is pretty common in our neighborhood, where teardowns fetch close to $1m.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What jurisdiction

Petworth, where real estate developers can do *anything* they want.

If you are a homeowner, contact your ANC chair and council member. They can do a little but it is highly unlikely you can stop the construction.

Thanks. Is there anything we can do to at least slow construction? To make life harder for the developer? It seems terrible that this stuff is allowed to go on. It also feels like pretty much the entire DC government is in favor of what real estate developers want to do.

Highly unlikely if they have gotten their permits and follow their plans. Crime is adversely affecting Petworth, so that may be the thing to stop the building quickly b

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

The reason housing prices go up so fast in DC is because of the Federal Reserve. It's not the supply of houses. When the Fed holds interest rates this low for this long, it means lots of people can qualify for huge mortgages. Lots of people able to get huge mortgages means lots of people bidding up the prices of homes. When interest rates return to normal levels, all of that will stop. People won't be able to get such big mortgages, which means fewer people bidding on homes, which means prices will go down. It's weird that people get so fixated on the supply of houses. Yes, that matters but only over the long term. If you're concerned about your grandchildren being able to afford a place, you should focus on the supply. But if you're interested in prices now and over the next, say, 10 years, you should be focused on the Fed.

I strongly disagree with trying to point the blame on one factor, like Fed rates. It's a constellation of factors that contribute to the recent increase in housing prices.

In my opinion, the biggest driver is increased demand and lack of supply. More people have moved into this region over the past decade. And - perhaps even more importantly - Millennials have come of-age and need housing to start families. This has led to a quick appreciation of prices.

So, combine the demographics, population increases, restrictive zoning that are decades out-of-date, and low Fed rates. This all contributes to upward pressure.

THERE AREN'T EVEN THAT MANY PEOPLE IN DC. In July, 2018, there were 702,000 people here, according to the census. Guess how many people lived here in 1950? 802,000. DC's population is way down from where it was in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I don't understand why people think the city is bursting at the seams. it's not.

Many of the rowhouses you see today housed 10+ people back in the first half of the 20th century. Larger families, boarding houses, multiple families in one home - this was the norm. The trends today are less people with more space; this is the aspiration. And is especially true among the graying owners of SFHs in nicer neighborhoods, where a widow will live alone in a 5BR house for 20 years. Many of the longtime owners are not downsizing while simultaneously struggling to keep up maintenance.

We bought our 5BR house in NW DC from a couple that was 90 years old. They owned the house for nearly 50 years. This is pretty common in our neighborhood, where teardowns fetch close to $1m.

I guess I should have stipulated that I was talking about the 1950s/1960s/1970s, not the 1850s/1860s/1870s. Families were not much smaller in 1960 than they are today. The average household in 1960 was 3.29 people, per the census, which is not that far off from what it is today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, it’s what will cause the equity in your house to rise. Are you supposed to be the last gentrifier allowed in?

+1 to the second sentence. There’s something so disingenuous about well off (most likely) white people objecting to further development in their previously poor neighborhood.

Is this some kind of weird Orwellian joke? This stuff is *only* allowed to happen in black neighborhoods. If a developer went to DuPont Circle or Georgetown or Alexandria or Friendship Heights and proposed tearing down a single-family home and covering every square inch of the yard with condos, people would be in the streets with pitchforks. Of course, that never actually happens, because people in those neighborhoods have already engineered their zoning laws to ensure that developers can never do any such thing. So the developers come to poor black neighborhoods where zoning laws basically don't exist, and no one will complain.

Give me a break. Creating more multifamily housing is GOOD, not bad. It's extremely well established that restrictive zoning negatively impacts housing supply. Do you think it HELPS lower-income homeowners in these neighborhoods to have a historic designation slapped on that makes it harder to do repairs?

If you replace single-family homes with condos, people with children will leave. No one with kids wants to live in a condo. They'll move to the suburbs, which will add to the sprawl and make traffic worse. And then DC will become one of those near-child-free cities like San Francisco and NYC. This presumption that parents will be happy to move into a condo with their kids seems like a strange presumption that people without children always make.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/san-francisco-children.html

Are you looking at the country’s changing demographics. The US is changing and new immigrants are not as tied to single house lifestyle like Americans. People throughout the world live in apartments with kids, and that is happening more in the US.

[Anonymous]

The level of crowding in DC in 1950 was certainly high enough to help motivate a rapid exodus to the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

WHATS A FUGGIN POPUP

[Anonymous]

What is the point of making things difficult for them or delaying it? Do you think that will deter them the next time? They DGAF, they are making tons of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for help fighting a really, really egregious popback/popup etc. that's coming to our block. Looking for any advice, any names we should be contacting about how to fight this.

Are you gentrifier?