The report describes living comfortably as spending no more than 30% of one’s income on rent.
This is abusing a crude, outdated rule of thumb that never worked in HCOL areas [1]. Put simply, if your rent goes up by $10K annually and all other costs remain the same, you only need $10K more per year to be just as “comfortable”, not $33.33K.
Granted, $35.1K is a lot (that would be 100% of minimum wage in Los Angeles). The median rent for a **1BR ** is $2.2K [2], so 26K per year (i.e. still too much).
In short, minimum wage isn’t enough to afford rent in L.A., but you certainly don’t need to be making $100K.
People just need to redefine comfortable. Maybe a slightly firmer surface like the ground could be “comfortable” and really with clogs and plumbers not having indoor plumbing could be “comfortable”. Follow me for more delusional tips.
I’d guess that regulations for earthquake safety make tall buildings very expensive to build. The only way it makes financial sense to build them is to put them in the most expensive areas and load the units with luxury finishes to increase profit. It’s far more common to see 5 over 1s, and yes there is a lot of resistance to even those.
Those towers have a higher rent due to amenities and location. Converting SFH to multi-unit condos/apartment buildings are a better way to increase the housing supply for less.
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