Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Office building to Co-Housing Conversions

[Liz Ryan Cole (lizryancole]

I sent a note along these lines to David and Bryan privately, but seeing 
Katie's note I thought to share with the list is a good idea.
 
It IS an expensive time to build – (remember too that it is has been more 
expensive- when I bought my house 41 years ago interest rates on 30-year 
mortgages were 15%) but the US economy is strong now. We need to be careful not 
to be caught in the narrative that says the economy is bad.  from the BBC...
 
“While countries around the world have struggled to recover from the economic 
setbacks brought on by the pandemic, one has emerged particularly strong.
With a fast-growing economy, a strong labour market and falling inflation, the 
US has outpaced its counterparts in Europe and elsewhere.
 
In terms of GDP, it posted a 3.3% gain in the fourth quarter of 2023, far 
exceeding economists' expectations of 2%. That put the US at 2.5% over the 
course of the year, outpacing all other advanced economies and on track to do 
so again in 2024.
 
"The US is holding up much better than other countries," said Ryan Sweet, Chief 
US Economist, Oxford Economics. "It seems like the engine of the US economy 
continues to hum along where it's sputtering in other nations.” END QUOTE
 
Our economy is good. What makes building homes expensive is complicated, but it 
is a combination of factors, better addressed by Robert Reich  
https://robertreich.substack.com/ and Heather Cox Richardson 
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-1-2024 than by me here. 
 
Now of course we need to redistribute some of this wealth - but I am sure most 
people in cohousing know that too. :) 
 
So, let’s help keep the economy strong, bring back federal government help to 
subsidize building costs and rents, and build more cohousing! 
 
liz
802.274.1511
 
 

> On Mar 24, 2024, at 2:21 AM, Katie Henry <katie-henry [at] att.net> wrote:
> 
> I interpreted "current economic climate" to refer to high interest rates (our 
> construction loan is currently about 9%) and the difficulty of construction 
> these days, what with material cost increases and labor shortages. This is 
> not a great time to be building.
> Katie Henry
> Heartwood Commons - Tulsa
> Almost done with construction
> -----------------------
> David Heimann wrote:
> I definitely object when people refer to "the current economic climate", with 
> an implication that the current economy is in trouble.  With only 3% 
> inflation and 3% unemployment, the economy is in a very good position!
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