Would urban regulatory costs matter? For example, in the '50’s one never thought about storm water detention, or storm water quality. Does the added cost of more sophisticated water, wastewater, and storm drain systems affect the relative cost of housing today?
Not for nothin’, but my house was built in 1977, I am fortunate to have a small mortgage, and I currently pay significantly more for property taxes, flood insurance and homeowners insurance than I do for the mortgage. I probably would not qualify for my home now because of the raise in rates. In this area, it isn’t the cost of the homes that is prohibitive, even though the bubble appears to be bursting, it is everything tacked on to it.
My neighboring city, St. Petersburg, has a ton of those post-war, small boom houses. Many were designed for retirement (2br/1b). We don’t have the luxury of basements or even attics really in Florida, the room in the house is what you have, so the houses here really do need to be bigger. Many northerners come down here and remark how little space the houses here have compared to other areas of the country.
I’ve already decided if I really want to set up my train set, I need to move up north. No basements for me!