HOUSING: Inflation blames goes to Joe

A lot has been said about how we can get affordable housing which of course would tie into affordable rentals. It’s certainly a fine and noble endeavor. The American dream has always been to own our own homes, raise our families in safe neighborhoods, barbecue in our backyards with relatives and friends — a place to call our own after a hard day’s work.

Ever since the beginning of America as we’ve known it, if we worked hard and planned wisely, home ownership was just a part of life — it was achievable for most everyone. Not anymore. What happened!?  

Greedy developers? Nope. They take huge risks and are entitled to fair profits. High interest rates? Nope. Back as long as I can remember, interest was mostly in the 5-8% range. The COVID pandemic created 2-3% loans, probably never to happen again. So why is the average home price in Kootenai County around $450,000? 

It’s the high cost of doing business — high land costs and infrastructure, high material costs from start to finish, high labor costs, good dependable workers are at a premium and it goes on and on. Why is the cost of doing business so high? Yeah, it’s inflation. Everything costs much more. Why? Because fuel/energy affect every single item going into homes and in a BIG WAY.  

Also, folks are moving here in droves — supply and demand comes into play. Build much much smaller houses? Maybe. So, will housing ever be affordable? Never to happen and only to get worse. Affordable rentals? Never in a lifetime! Sometimes you “get” and sometimes you “get got” — with inflation most of us are “getting got.” Thanks Joe.

MARVIN GEORGE MILLER

Coeur d’Alene