I love the real estate industry. It is fascinating, challenging, and rewarding. But I also believe it is fundamentally inefficient. And that inefficiency is a major driver of the Housing Crisis.
I’m Michael Ruge, and I recently sat down with Bruce Firestone to talk about this. Bruce is a legend in the industry, and he doesn’t mince words. He believes, and I agree, that the industry could be much more creative and efficient in addressing housing challenges.
Think about it. We have a Housing Crisis, yet it takes years to get approvals. We have a shortage of affordable units, yet we build homes without the simple addition of basement suites that could house people immediately. We have a system that is bogged down by studies and fees that don’t add value to the final product.
The industry needs a shake-up. We need to embrace “real estate animation” and look for new revenue streams. We need to push back against zoning codes that make no sense for modern living. We need to be faster.
Bruce mentioned that entrepreneurs are the ones who can get this done. If you want something done, put an entrepreneur in charge. They will find a way to cut through the red tape and deliver.
This is the message I want to get out there. The Housing Crisis is big, but it is solvable. But we can’t solve it with the same old, slow, inefficient methods. We need to innovate. We need to be efficient.
If you are a developer, ask yourself: how can I build this faster? How can I add more value? If you are a policymaker, ask: how can I make this easier? We all have a role to play in making the industry work better for everyone. Let’s stop accepting inefficiency as the norm and start building a smarter industry.
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
Michael Ruge’s Rent-to-Own Strategy: A Real Solution to Canada’s Housing Crisis
Michael Ruge: The Secret Financing Behind Successful Affordable Housing
Discovering the Ideas of Michael Ruge the Author
Michael Ruge, Solving the Housing Crisis WITHOUT Urban Sprawl