>>2003304>>2003297>Build more apartments and apartments get cheaper. Again, there is a limit to how cheap apartments get before they start doubling up on tenants or considered a candidate for a teardown.
>I literally live across the street from a giant building in the heart of downtown that’s been vacant for over 15 years and not demolished.It depends on who owns it. It doesn't automatically get demolished. The problem is a lot of new development is leveraged by investors, and if it falls into the banks' hands in foreclosure they're not going to be as patient.
A few choice quotes from the article:
>Nearly all, however, are tied to the unrealistic growth of the 70s and later decay of Houston's economy in the 80s.>The inflation of the late 1970s nearly guaranteed you could build the property and sell it at a profit, Gaines said, and of course, there was a housing shortage.>Oddly enough, the rents for the decaying apartments are usually about the same as rents for better apartments in other areas of Houston. But managers of decaying apartments aren't choosy about many people live in each apartment.>Many of the lending institutions are giving up and simply bulldozing the complexes to wait for a better land use in later years 