A reader brought this to my attention today. It's an interview that happened months ago, in October 2024. I found it interesting, and I thought Gossips readers might, too.
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Of Interest
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The city saw a decline in its population during Covid, as the mayor explains. This is especially true on North 7th Street, where Galvan razed three of their perfectly good and occupied houses, sent their tenants packing and where there is now an open space construction material storage area for their apartment building project across the street. Soon enough, it is likely that the area where those houses once stood will be turned into a parking lot for the tenants across the street.
ReplyDeleteBetter as a parking lot than another cheap architectural monstrosity ...
ReplyDeleteSo according to our well compensated Housing “Justice” Director, 6-10% of Hudson’s available housing stock is short term rentals. According to the US Census Bureau, Hudson has around 3,750 available housing units. That means that she’s saying she has good data and proof that there are around 375 STRs operating in Hudson. As of last year there were only 60 STRs registered and paying lodging tax. So this means that she is either lying, grossly mistaken or we have a major enforcement and compliance issue and an opportunity to bring illegal STRs back into the long term market (possibly more units than the Bliss/Mill St/Depot projects added together) or, if permitted, a major amount of back owed lodging taxes. They also perpetuate the falsehood that out of town people are snatching up properties to STR when, by the time the video was made, all non owner occupied resident STRs have been outlawed for three years.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when we govern and pursue policy based on emotions, stereotypes (Brooklyn boogeymen), and anecdotal stories, rather than actual data. But emotional stories and scapegoating gets more attention then the mundane and real explanation of supply and demand.
All recent housing policy has been made without any real data (STR, Good Cause, Pilots). So in that light, here’s my anecdotal evidence that you can take or leave:
- Since the STR policy was enacted: no more units of housing were converted to long term rentals, they were mostly sold as single family homes and likely a lot of weekend homes. Rents have gone up, lodging and sales taxes are down.
- Since Good Cause went into effect, many large landlords raised rents in advance or have leaned on new developments to circumvent the law (see Crosswinds and Galvan). Many small landlords are in the process of selling, and telling their tenants that they will likely need to leave when the building sells as the new owners will not be renting, and will likely convert to single family.
Economics and the law of unintended consequences stays winning.