Housing Costs Money

“This seems like an obvious statement: It costs money to build housing, including the cost of construction materials, labor, land, permits and fees and a host of other things. Once built, there are a myriad of operating costs such as utilities, insurance, state and local taxes and, in the case of rental housing, staff to process applications and support residents. It also costs money to maintain housing by ensuring that mechanical systems are operating, repairs are made timely and, as time goes on, updates are made to keep communities in line with modern standards.

In recent political debates about how to resolve our national housing crisis—putting the blame on “greedy corporate landlords,” pushing for “top down” solutions or advocating for additional costly regulations—so many ignore the fact that housing costs money. Where the money comes from is often an afterthought or given virtually no thought at all.“