Why All New Apartment Buildings Look Identical - Cheddar Explains

Maybe the biggest constraint on the urban U.S. housing market, a $61 billion annual industry, is the amount of available space. In response, developers and architects have been searching for creative solutions to zoning regulations. What started as a creative solution is now the standard blueprint for all modern apartment construction. Cheddar explains why this building is now everywhere.

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U.S. Census

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[jbshbsskskhbs]

clarification: These buildings are cheap for landlords. They are marketed as expensive luxury products to renters.

[youdonwannaknowme]

That awkward moment when the apartments shown in this video are more varied, vibrant, and less boring looking than all the new ones being built in my city...

[residentevillife]

the only thing i learned from this video is that despite their cheapness to build these apartments are sold at a premium price to renters

[EvaHoffmann]

The urban U.S. housing market's space constraints have sparked creative development solutions. However, locally, I've seen 'luxury' apartments built with cheap materials, prioritizing profit over quality. Thin walls and floors make for a noisy living environment, yet developers charge premium prices. This disparity between cost and quality is alarming.

[cardinalrule]

Many of these buildings are popping up where I live. They are advertised as being "luxury" apartments, but because of the cheap building materials, you can literally hear every step your upstairs neighbors take, as well as conversations in adjacent units. These buildings are a nightmare in terms of noise, yet developers charge more for them even though they cost less to build.

[josephcurry]

"Cheap" housting a lot of these tout being "luxury" in the cities I've lived in.

[wordsmith]

“A lack of affordable housing was a huge issue”

lol, “was.” Yep now it’s all better

[RP.]

This explains all the “luxury buildings” in some metro areas that cost $2200+ for a 1bedroom but you can still hear a pin drop

[rickhall]

"as long as they aren't dangerous to occupants, " she says, while outlining why they're dangerous to occupants and blatantly ignoring the economic issue of calling them "affordable housing"

[gotbjosh]

The high price of lumber may curb an expansion of these developments. Also, if you've lived in cheaper, modern builds made primarily from wood, then you know the biggest drawbacks are noise levels, inadequate sound proofing between rooms and floors, and high electric bills.

[jeffrittenour]

Define "affordable housing, " because where I live renting one of those apartments is the same, if not more, than a mortgage.

[MONETiAM]

The irony is that these structures are called luxury apartments and a 500 sqft is like $1600

[jeh]

I honestly think that these are making every city feel and look the same in the US. I am getting very tired of them honestly. I also hate how they say 'Luxury Apartments!' when clearly they are not built with luxury in mind, just the paint and appliances.

[bgiv]

"It's not a glitch in the Matrix; it's just the US housing market." That is a distinction without a difference.

[jaredleemease]

It’s so irritating to hear the narrator of this video say, “...these cheap and affordable buildings.” I’m not sure about the rest of the country but here in Phoenix, Arizona. The new 5 over one wood framed buildings built in the past decade in Phoenix are some of the most expensive rental units in the city!

[MsPataca]

This type of apartment building is very common in Europe, too. But I really doubt that any of them have wood frames.

[filip.su.]

I'm from europe and i don't get what's wrong with this type of housing, they don't have to be bland and boring, they can be shaped into anything, it all depends on target customer and how deep is your pocket. It's funny to watch this being something new in USA, meanwhile in Europe it's basically foundation of housing market in bigger cities. I think only differance in EU is material, i've never seen housing like that built with wood as structural material

[mynameazeus]

I honestly don't mind these, they look pretty good compared to other stuff

[ragamiNinj]

We had one of those 5 over 1 fires in my city, it literally melted a crane and almost took out two other apartment buildings. Cheap housing is great, but these things aren't safe.

[richardjohnson]

I live on the East Coast and I just assumed most of these buildings were made by the same company because of the similarities. Nothing cheap about their rents in New Jersey though