Overcoming Spatial Mismatch in Buying a Home

Compared to the distribution of France and other European countries, there isn’t a concentration of social housing purely towards the periphery of the city. Rather, social housing can be found even in parts of the downtown core, and other high activity urban spaces. Furthermore, towards

As the leasing amount and house rent goes up while there is stagnation in wages and salaries, affording the monthly rent becomes difficult leading to gentrification in the city.

Furthermore, lack of affordable housing has become an issue for additional reasons. 50,000 new homes were built since 1981 but only 8000 were local authority housing, and only 2000 were low income houses. This was worsened by the implementation of the ‘right to buy’ scheme, creating a surge in house prices (a 1 bedroom apartment now costs around £500,000). It could be suggested that this issue counteracts successes of the scheme, as issues still exist including 3500 homeless people in the area and the housing prices are significantly above the UK average, so they have not achieved their aim to ‘make housing affordable to all.’ However, I believe that the Docklands has been a successful example of regeneration as it is now such a significant part of the capital, with it being London’s finance capital providing not only important economic contributions, but also employment to many people in the skilled sector.

Now it becomes difficult, if finding a place to live during a prosperous age wasn’t hard enough, try finding one during the time of recession. Job losses are very common during this age, and with that comes the difficulty to afford proper housing. Most end up on the street, and others barely struggle to stay sheltered whether it be in their car, assuming they still have one or staying in public shelters. Ehrenreich mentions in her 2011 blog that, “Housing expert Peter Dreier says that “people who’ve lost their jobs, or, at least, their second jobs, cope by doubling or tripling up in overcrowded apartments, or by paying 50 or 60 or even 70 percent of

Housing in America really isn’t what it used to be. With prices getting very high, people have found themselves moving and relocating more quickly. Statistics have shown that 35% of Americans have moved at least once in the last 5 years (meaning that in the last 60 months, over 100 thousand people had to fill the change of address forms) and the truth is that the number doesn’t seem to be reducing. Moving in America has always been on the rise as people have been on the constant search for more opportunities and greener pastures; better jobs, better housing and living conditions, improved ways of life, etc. Job related factors have always been the most frequent and common reasons

Although a rapid phenomenon, the process of gentrification initially starts at a slow pace. According to Biro (2007), “When low income houses are renovated they reach a higher quality and therefore are marketable to buyers who can afford to pay a premium for homes with better quality characteristics.”(p. 42) The individuals who cannot cope with the gentrification process due to

Gentrification is known as a process of moving in wealthier residents and thereby increasing property values. From this, many conclude that it constitutes neighborhood revitalization insofar as it improves the economic value of the area. Therefore, a major consequence of this ‘revitalization’ is that it often displaces low-income residents and small businesses (Zukin, 2010). Though much research and discourse exist to examine the plights of these residents and firms, a frequently overlooked subject is gentrification’s ability to displace labor from an economic standpoint.

A report prepared by the Economic Roundtable, Rental Housing 2011; The State of Rental Housing in the City of Los Angeles, noted that the city’s rental property had increased due to foreclosures that had started during the 2008 recession and been converted to rental property. Although this increased the options for renters, the incomes of family households had been decreasing since 1990. In this report, Daniel Flaming and Patrick Burns state, “Over the past decade, rent as a share of income has shifted from being barely affordable to predominantly unaffordable for renters (2012). They also note that the majority of renters in this area pay 30% to 50% of their income on rent. This is compounded by the problem of the increase of

Shortage of housing supply, especially in the coastal areas, is the critical issue that drives housing affordability crisis in California. California’s major coastal metros (such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego), where about two-thirds of Californian live, is lacking in sufficient housing to accommodate all the people who want to live there . For example, in 2015, there were 133,000 jobs created in the Bay Area while only 16,000 units of housing added there . In addition, the construction of new housings in California’s coastal metros, from 1980 to 2010, was low from both national and historical standpoints. During the past three decades, the number of housing units in the typical U.S. urban center grew by 54%, compared with 32%

So with spatial mismatch becoming a bigger issue as time went by, city gentrification became a routine for all cities creating even more disparity in ranges of wealth. People who have lived in their homes for a long time are now being forced out by plans to incorporate more businesses and malls. Property taxes began rising and as the city centers changed, people weren’t able to afford products in their own communities anymore. They dispersed to different sectors of the city, some moving completely out of the city. Gentrification not only affects where people live. It also affects local businesses. Small business owners can’t keep up with the rent because the community around the owners are now very high in value with new businesses, condos,

Gentrification is the process of buying and renovating houses and store the housing in urban neighborhoods, which results in increase property values and replacing the lower income and small businesses. Once gentrification happens, rental units are often change to a more luxury housing or condominiums that are available to be purchased. As real estate changes, land use is also altered. Before the gentrification happens, the area usually consist of low-income family housing and sometimes light industries. But after the gentrification, it shifts the housing in an urban community lifestyle, along with businesses, office, restaurants, retails, and other form of entertainment. Because of this gentrification, it significantly affects the area’s character and

Living in the inner-city and suburban neighborhood can be challenging and beneficial for some individuals, especially for career opportunity. Many people who live in the urban communities have a better advantage in finding a job of their choice. Most corporations are located in the inner-city which makes it easier for people to find a job. Despite the job opportunities in the inner-city, many of these corporations do not provide parking for their employee which makes it difficult for many individuals. On the other hand, employment in the suburb is very limited and many of the professional jobs are

Multiple reasons exist for the the lack of affordable housing. On the demand side these include population growth and increased migration to urban areas, easily accessible housing finance, tax incentives and a “strong cultural preference for owner-occupied detached houses”. On the supply side, affordability problems are exacerbated by inflexible and slow responses to the need for new housing stock, lack of infrastructure and generally inefficient planning processes and development assessment by local governments.

Gentrification is a problem that is occurring in many communities. The city of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles is one of the communities that the citizens of the community are notice new apartments build, galleries owner by rich people, and high prices for apartment the people are not able to afford to live there. Because the renewal of neighborhood environments that transform and attract middle and upper-class households and investors, creating problems for those who cannot afford rises of rents. According to O’Regan, “some of the biggest concerns about gentrification-potential displacement and increased rent burdens-are driven by rent or housing cost increases” (152). The only way to

This report examines the housing affordability crisis in Auckland, the current situation of the housing market, and extent of this problem. Auckland is in a deficit of houses due to the difference in demand and supply factors. The demographic and economic factors are the main reason for the increase in demand for houses. The supply side is not performing up to the mark to satisfy the demand in the market. The first home buyers are finding difficulties to make choice on their housing needs. The median households are struggling with the high rentals in Auckland market. Lower income households with faces a greater affordability pressures than those are living outside Auckland. There is a shortage in land and houses that are affordable for lower income households. The report suggests some new factors that can be considered to solve the affordability crisis.