Excellent article and subhead. But stupid, misleading headline. The affordability crisis could be ended if governments saw their supplyside constraints are the problem. But with a few odd exceptions they don't. So the affordability crisis is not ending as the headline suggests.
"Little Boxes" — Malvina Reynolds' 1962 song captured the mood ........Pete Seeger sang it !!!
Reynolds, who was 62 when she wrote “Little Boxes”, had the idea when she was driving
through Daly City, Northern California. She was horrified by the rows of new tract homes,
“little boxes on the hillside/little boxes all the same”
Lyrics: "There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same "
"Ticky tacky" refers to cheap, shoddy, or flimsy materials used in construction,
especially uniform suburban housing. It implies poor quality, monotony, and lack of imagination in design, often used to describe cookie-cutter houses lacking taste , shabby or vulgar !
.
Believe me when I say "I hate bureaucrats and bureaucracy !!!" .....BUT.....in their defence , on this singular occasion , ...............for once............"THEY" did exactly what we asked them to do.........and that was to PROTECT THE CONSUMER [ mostly ] from their own stupidity....by insisting on a set of Building Standards below which EVEN AN UNSCRUPULOUS BUILDER could NOT legally descend !
.
However , once given "a sniff of power" said bureaucrats enacted "Carpe Diem" to the max !
Power-hungry-to-the-hilt , they set about "making the most of current opportunities rather than waiting ".........or consulting for that matter......and "legislated us into a black-hole " from which
not even light emerges ! INEVITABLY and PREDICTABLY , prices for everything 'sky-rocketed' !
Everything from waiting-times to planning permission to wages AND to CEO's salaries !!
You name it !! They could double it !! No expense was spared....as long as YOU were paying it !!!
Recently , however , subject to MUCH "pressure from above" "THEY" have relented somewhat in the planning permission but the CHARGES for everything .....and housing prices ......... are forever
SET IN CONCRETE ......OR climbing........due to "inflation".......and middle east wars......we are told !
Materials , "Tradies" and building sites REMAIN 'subject to availability.'.....and scarcity is abundant.
.
CHEAP HOUSING was deliberately phased out......because "we" didn't want it !
"We" STILL wanted THE BEST POSSIBLE DOMESTIC-DREAM and would settle for nothing less !
"We" did compromise , of course , and settle for less than the best......initially......and then "we"
set to work and worked long and hard UNTIL "we" could afford the best.....well......the best "we"
could afford anyway ! As for "The MODERN GENERATIONS" ???? Not so much !
They all WANT to START at a level that their parents have finally reached .........and are LEAVING AT but................ALL that hard work ?.....Again ! Not so much ! "Inheritance" is the name of the game !
.
Pity about that......the "old blighters" are LIVING LONGER NOW ! Far longer than anticipated !!!
Well...........I'll drink to that !!!! LONGEVITY , HEALTH and HAPPINESS !!!! UP YOUR NOSE !
One of the major barriers to home ownership is the costs associated with house building.
There is a company that is actively disrupting this barrier to the housing affordability crisis by cutting the cost of materials and construction by half.
Geoship is tackling the housing affordability crisis by re-engineering homes from first principles: using innovative bioceramic composites to create geodesic dome structures that are non-toxic, mold-resistant, fireproof, and climate-resilient (withstanding hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and more). By shifting from slow, wasteful traditional construction to factory-based modular production and assembly, they aim to slash costs dramatically—targeting roughly half the price of conventional homes at scale—while delivering healthier, longer-lasting (500+ years), and regenerative living spaces. 
Excellent article and subhead. But stupid, misleading headline. The affordability crisis could be ended if governments saw their supplyside constraints are the problem. But with a few odd exceptions they don't. So the affordability crisis is not ending as the headline suggests.
"Little Boxes" — Malvina Reynolds' 1962 song captured the mood ........Pete Seeger sang it !!!
Reynolds, who was 62 when she wrote “Little Boxes”, had the idea when she was driving
through Daly City, Northern California. She was horrified by the rows of new tract homes,
“little boxes on the hillside/little boxes all the same”
Lyrics: "There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same "
"Ticky tacky" refers to cheap, shoddy, or flimsy materials used in construction,
especially uniform suburban housing. It implies poor quality, monotony, and lack of imagination in design, often used to describe cookie-cutter houses lacking taste , shabby or vulgar !
.
Believe me when I say "I hate bureaucrats and bureaucracy !!!" .....BUT.....in their defence , on this singular occasion , ...............for once............"THEY" did exactly what we asked them to do.........and that was to PROTECT THE CONSUMER [ mostly ] from their own stupidity....by insisting on a set of Building Standards below which EVEN AN UNSCRUPULOUS BUILDER could NOT legally descend !
.
However , once given "a sniff of power" said bureaucrats enacted "Carpe Diem" to the max !
Power-hungry-to-the-hilt , they set about "making the most of current opportunities rather than waiting ".........or consulting for that matter......and "legislated us into a black-hole " from which
not even light emerges ! INEVITABLY and PREDICTABLY , prices for everything 'sky-rocketed' !
Everything from waiting-times to planning permission to wages AND to CEO's salaries !!
You name it !! They could double it !! No expense was spared....as long as YOU were paying it !!!
Recently , however , subject to MUCH "pressure from above" "THEY" have relented somewhat in the planning permission but the CHARGES for everything .....and housing prices ......... are forever
SET IN CONCRETE ......OR climbing........due to "inflation".......and middle east wars......we are told !
Materials , "Tradies" and building sites REMAIN 'subject to availability.'.....and scarcity is abundant.
.
CHEAP HOUSING was deliberately phased out......because "we" didn't want it !
"We" STILL wanted THE BEST POSSIBLE DOMESTIC-DREAM and would settle for nothing less !
"We" did compromise , of course , and settle for less than the best......initially......and then "we"
set to work and worked long and hard UNTIL "we" could afford the best.....well......the best "we"
could afford anyway ! As for "The MODERN GENERATIONS" ???? Not so much !
They all WANT to START at a level that their parents have finally reached .........and are LEAVING AT but................ALL that hard work ?.....Again ! Not so much ! "Inheritance" is the name of the game !
.
Pity about that......the "old blighters" are LIVING LONGER NOW ! Far longer than anticipated !!!
Well...........I'll drink to that !!!! LONGEVITY , HEALTH and HAPPINESS !!!! UP YOUR NOSE !
One of the major barriers to home ownership is the costs associated with house building.
There is a company that is actively disrupting this barrier to the housing affordability crisis by cutting the cost of materials and construction by half.
Geoship is tackling the housing affordability crisis by re-engineering homes from first principles: using innovative bioceramic composites to create geodesic dome structures that are non-toxic, mold-resistant, fireproof, and climate-resilient (withstanding hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and more). By shifting from slow, wasteful traditional construction to factory-based modular production and assembly, they aim to slash costs dramatically—targeting roughly half the price of conventional homes at scale—while delivering healthier, longer-lasting (500+ years), and regenerative living spaces. 
Read more about their roadmap to radical affordability here: https://geoship.is/blog/geoship-s-roadmap-to-radical-affordability-a-systems-approach-to-regenerative-housing