Man Waving From Two-Storey Cardboard Condo Highlights LA's Housing Crisis

Footage recorded in Los Angeles appears to show a homeless man waving from his 'cardboard condo', in a clip many are saying reflects the housing crisis in America.

The video shows the man behind the camera pull up to the make-shift structure.

He proceeds to greet the man in the cardboard home, as he holds up a 'for sale' sign.

You can see it here:

People were quick to react on social media, with some joking the cardboard house is 'on the market in LA for a modest 250k', with others adding 'I already saw that in downtown'.

Another praised the man for holding the for sale sign, saying 'hes smart as hell for trying to sell it hes trying to make something outta nothing lol gonna be a home flipper one day [sic]'.

While others joked the house was a wish fulfilment, saying, 'Bruh I used to dream of making my own cardboard condo in a field away from my parents lmao,' it also signals a pretty rife housing problem in the US.

Cardboard Condo (@hoodstockspodcast)

Housing prices initially got out of hand last year, with too many buyers and not enough sellers, housing prices continued to rise.

Prices rose 7.2% year over year in June of 2021, Insider reports, signalling the biggest one-year increase since 1979. This rise then leaked into the rental market, with rent sitting 11.4% higher than it was at the end of 2020. As a result, many were left in an affordability crisis.

Meanwhile, a recent report from The Guardian in conjunction with the University of Washington found the number of American's dying while homeless is growing at an alarming rate.

Cardboard Condo (@hoodstockspodcast)

The examination, which spanned across 20 US 'urban areas' found that those living without house 'shot up by 77% in the five years ending 2020'. Deaths among these groups also rose rapidly.

Matt Fowle, University of Washington researcher, commented on the results of the study: 'People who die while experiencing homelessness are some of the most neglected in society... These are folks who most need our help and are least likely to receive it.'

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Topics: US News, TikTok, Viral

Shola Lee

Shola Lee began her journalism career while studying for her undergraduate degree at Queen Mary, University of London and Columbia University in New York. She has written for the Columbia Spectator, QM Global Bloggers, CUB Magazine, UniDays, and Warner Brothers' Wizarding World Digital. Recently, Shola took part in the 2021 BAFTA Crew and BBC New Creatives programme before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news, trending stories, and features.