It’s happening
Over the past few years, esteemed blogs (such as tadfad.com) have espoused at great lengths why suburbs are not a wise investment for our nation in general. Now, as gas prices are on the way to $4/gallon and the credit markets are tightening up, home buyers seem to agree.
Home Prices Drop Most in Areas with Long Commute : NPR via kwout
The part that’s sad about this is that almost everyone is going to lose in the end. We’ve spent trillions of dollars building not only the suburban homes themselves, but all the infrastructure to support them. As these areas become less and less desirable (and hence, less valuable), much of this investment will simply go to zero. The negative effect to the U.S. economy will be significant.
Fortunately, there’s hope. In cities all across the U.S., there’s plenty of space to expand. After decades of suburban flight, many neighborhoods are living with low population density and ample opportunities for improvement. We’ll need to act wisely as we re-urbanize and ensure that low income families aren’t forced out to the fringes. Again, history is a wise tutor as most cities dealt with mixed income housing quite well prior to WWII.
The key to this equation will be wise investment. There will be enormous pressures on state and federal governments to prop up the suburbs with cheap loans and road building. We need the forethought to gradually close the book on the great suburban experiment and rediscover what city life can be.
[Side note : Anyone looking for an investment opportunity? Check out the Riverwest neighborhood in Milwaukee. ]
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, economics, energy, environment, suburbs : Comments (3) : Apr 23rd, 2008 by tadfad
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Tad, I really enjoy tadfad, and glad you are posting more frequently recently…thanks!
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Thanks Dan. My interest in tadfad waxes and wanes, but I’m hoping to keep it flowing.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
There has been a series in the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently on one county’s struggle to adjust to struggling suburbs. Too many investors bought houses they couldn’t sell, and now they’re sitting empty. Foreclosures aren’t just happening in the urban core.
Is $3.50/gallon the breaking point where people will change their behavior? I’ve heard it anecdotally - people switching to closer churches, skipping long car trips, combining errands. I think it’s a good thing.