The personal finance consequences of the poor choices made during the recent housing boom/bubble/souffle/permanently high plateau are often discussed in the media. Things such as personal savings wiped out to ‘feed the gator’, years of blemished credit due to missed payments, as well as high mortgage costs making it difficult for people to save are now frequently discussed as repercussions of the housing euphoria. While the financial impacts of the housing boom which has gripped America and large portions of the world are frequently discussed, few people are discussing the environmental impacts of this phenomenon, so I thought that I would list some here. These are a few of the negative environmental consequences of the housing boom.

  1. Supply has far outstripped demand so that we have a large number of hastily built houses constructed with unsustainable materials and a large amount of waste. Have you ever seen a dumpster near a construction site?
  2. Older working fixtures and appliances have been replaced with newer ones during so-called upgrades and flips. These discarded pieces often end up in landfills. Furthermore, many of the new appliances aren’t chosen with increased energy efficiency or sustainability in mind. Granite and travertine upgrades come to mind.
  3. To increase profitability (and profit margins) given the high increases in lot prices, bigger homes were built. This results in the use of more materials and more energy consumption.
  4. Destruction of vegetation, landscape, and microclimate occurred to make space for more homes. These types of changes can cause increased runoff and sedimentation (issues for water quality) as well as displacement of local animal populations.

I believe that there are more impacts, some which might not be discovered for years to come. Can you think of any others, or perhaps ways to mitigate some of the negative environmental outcomes we may experience because of our hastiness?