Are roommates sharing rentals always a sign of a failed housing market?
Hey guys,
Lately I've been thinking about the issue of roommates in housing. By roommates I'm talking about when you choose to live with someone who is not related to you (by marriage or otherwise) and that you are not having sex with. Generally speaking, this tends to fall into two broad groups. First, younger people often choose to become roommates with friends of theirs (sometimes with bad results when they discover they aren't compatible). But sometimes people end up having to share places with total strangers, due to some combination of lack of social connections and economic necessity.
Regardless, roommates tend to happen most frequently in two circumstances, at least in the U.S. One of them is if you live in a very high-cost urban area, like NYC or San Francisco, where affording your own place is difficult. The other is if you are a college student or an immediate post-grad, particularly in a "college town."
Thinking about it though, while of course there are some people who would prefer to have roommates, I think in many cases this happens due to lack of sufficient studios/one bedrooms at the appropriate price point. Most people would prefer the privacy of having their own space, even when they are young and socially active. But they cannot afford it, so they split a 2 bedroom in NYC, or they rent a whole house in the Bay Area with five other people, or whatever.
This has the knock-off effect of making these slightly-larger units unaffordable for the people who must have them. Like, people with children who live in NYC and need 2-3 bedroom units. Or families who live in college towns. Children don't pay rent, but need bedrooms, which means that someone with kids is at an income disadvantage compared to a group of gainfully-employed adults who can each pay rent towards a bedroom. Which is part of how "student slums" come into being.
Thus, I'm left wondering if roommates are a sign of an unhealthy local housing market. Basically, anywhere that you find them, does it mean there is a huge untapped market for 1 bedrooms and studios which is not being addressed? Does student rental houses (either chopped up or not) mean by definition that an area needs to have more purpose-built apartments?
Anyway, just wanted some other perspectives here.
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