California is crazy expensive. But should it be?
The Upshot recently took a look at how much housing costs in various cities in the United States in relation to how much economists think it should cost. Not surprisingly, coastal California tops the list of the country’s most overpriced places.
As the chart shows, the worst discrepancy is the San Francisco metropolitan area, where a standard house should cost about $300,000 — but in reality is more like $800,000 (based on 2013 figures). Next comes cities and counties in coastal Southern California — basically a band of overpriced housing that stretches downward from Ventura to the San Diego border.
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Inland cities like Sacramento, Fresno and Riverside are all much cheaper, which is why many Californians have moved eastward.
The research behind the story comes from a pair of economists who tried to figure out how much of a home’s cost comes from land-use regulation. The paper argues that most of the difference is caused by regulatory hurdles like design and environmental reviews that can add years to a project’s timeline and suppress the overall housing supply. The result is overpayment on a grand scale for the few homes that do get built. Their figures are theoretical, and people are sure to disagree with them.
The broader point — which isn’t remotely controversial — is that California cities have some of the most restrictive building laws in the nation, and this is a big reason why the state’s per capita home supply is 49th out of 50 states, and why it costs so much to live here.
And Finally ...
Continue reading the main story
Photo
CreditJett Inong
Lowriding, rooted in Latino culture, emerged in Southern California in the 1940s and ’50s as car customization became popular.
Today, cars are commonly tricked out with flashy paint jobs, plush upholstery and hydraulics that make them wiggle and bounce.
Jett Inong shared a picture he captured during the Fourth of July weekend a couple of years ago.
While out grabbing coffee in Los Angeles’s Crenshaw neighborhood, Mr. Inong, 30, noticed a gathering of people and cars and went with his camera to get a closer look.
When he approached, the man seen in the photo with the dollar sign tattoo asked him if he was a cop.
“And I’m like, ‘No, no,’” Mr. Inong said. “And he told me, ‘O.K. We’re not supposed to be doing this, so don’t attract too much attention.’”
The man turned his head, and Mr. Inong snapped his photo.
The Upshot recently took a look at how much housing costs in various cities in the United States in relation to how much economists think it should cost. Not surprisingly, coastal California tops the list of the country’s most overpriced places.
As the chart shows, the worst discrepancy is the San Francisco metropolitan area, where a standard house should cost about $300,000 — but in reality is more like $800,000 (based on 2013 figures). Next comes cities and counties in coastal Southern California — basically a band of overpriced housing that stretches downward from Ventura to the San Diego border.
Photo
Inland cities like Sacramento, Fresno and Riverside are all much cheaper, which is why many Californians have moved eastward.
The research behind the story comes from a pair of economists who tried to figure out how much of a home’s cost comes from land-use regulation. The paper argues that most of the difference is caused by regulatory hurdles like design and environmental reviews that can add years to a project’s timeline and suppress the overall housing supply. The result is overpayment on a grand scale for the few homes that do get built. Their figures are theoretical, and people are sure to disagree with them.
The broader point — which isn’t remotely controversial — is that California cities have some of the most restrictive building laws in the nation, and this is a big reason why the state’s per capita home supply is 49th out of 50 states, and why it costs so much to live here.
And Finally ...
Continue reading the main story
Photo
CreditJett Inong
Lowriding, rooted in Latino culture, emerged in Southern California in the 1940s and ’50s as car customization became popular.
Today, cars are commonly tricked out with flashy paint jobs, plush upholstery and hydraulics that make them wiggle and bounce.
Jett Inong shared a picture he captured during the Fourth of July weekend a couple of years ago.
While out grabbing coffee in Los Angeles’s Crenshaw neighborhood, Mr. Inong, 30, noticed a gathering of people and cars and went with his camera to get a closer look.
When he approached, the man seen in the photo with the dollar sign tattoo asked him if he was a cop.
“And I’m like, ‘No, no,’” Mr. Inong said. “And he told me, ‘O.K. We’re not supposed to be doing this, so don’t attract too much attention.’”
The man turned his head, and Mr. Inong snapped his photo.
