Finding a new apartment to rent can be a slog. And with over half of US renters already paying more than 30% of their income — the standard threshold — it is clear there’s an affordability crisis.
If you are, or in the future will be in the market for a three or four bedroom apartment you will find they are almost impossible to find, or priced out of your range. This is especially true for most new builds.
This means if you are a family of three or four your “better” option, or more precisely your “only option” in a sense is to move to the suburbs into a single family home which in almost all cases is cheeper then the three/four bedroom apartment even in the same town.
The reasoning for this price difference is the way in which condominium/apartments are built in north america. This is usually a single corridor down the middle with apartments on either side and stairwells on the ends of the long corridor. This is because anything over two floors in north america requires two stairwells as exits.
European condominium/apartments have different layouts called point access blocks, anywhere between one and generally around six apartments per floor arrayed around a central staircase and, usually, an elevator. This means these units usually have windows on two or more walls/sides. While north america layouts usually only have one wall with windows or a corner with two.
European unit layouts using this point access system are more efficient in their space utilization. In most cases using 20% less square footage per unit as compared to north america counter parts. This means a developer could potentially fit more units per floor and charge less per unit, making a three/four bedroom more competitively priced in the market.
This article goes into greater detail explaining this concept with some layouts for anyone that is interested in the phenom.
Another interesting topic that sums this up.
If you are, or in the future will be in the market for a three or four bedroom apartment you will find they are almost impossible to find, or priced out of your range. This is especially true for most new builds.
This means if you are a family of three or four your “better” option, or more precisely your “only option” in a sense is to move to the suburbs into a single family home which in almost all cases is cheeper then the three/four bedroom apartment even in the same town.
The reasoning for this price difference is the way in which condominium/apartments are built in north america. This is usually a single corridor down the middle with apartments on either side and stairwells on the ends of the long corridor. This is because anything over two floors in north america requires two stairwells as exits.
European condominium/apartments have different layouts called point access blocks, anywhere between one and generally around six apartments per floor arrayed around a central staircase and, usually, an elevator. This means these units usually have windows on two or more walls/sides. While north america layouts usually only have one wall with windows or a corner with two.
European unit layouts using this point access system are more efficient in their space utilization. In most cases using 20% less square footage per unit as compared to north america counter parts. This means a developer could potentially fit more units per floor and charge less per unit, making a three/four bedroom more competitively priced in the market.
This article goes into greater detail explaining this concept with some layouts for anyone that is interested in the phenom.
https://www.centerforbuilding.org/blog/we-we-cant-build-family-sized-apartments-in-north-america