Housing Policy
State vs. Local, State vs. State
A popular revolt against state-led zoning reform in Colorado, Massachusetts' contradictory approach to housing supply, and how municipalities lobby to kill housing.
Zoning's War on Cuddly Animals, Cute Kids, and Christian Charity
A recent string of zoning controversies show how land use regulations have become the enemy of all good things.
Does the Government Own You—or Do You Own Yourself?
"Why should somebody else have this right to decide the direction of my own life?" asks Timothy Sandefur, author of the book You Don't Own Me.
Live Free or Ban Data Centers
Plus: D.C. considers single-stair reform, Idaho legalizes starter homes, and Florida bans discrimination against manufactured housing.
New Book Chapter on "The Right to Use Private Property"
It argues that the right to use property is central to both the value of property rights generally, and the property rights protected by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The D.C. Streetcar's Other Failures
Plus: The "Montana miracle" wins one last court battle, D.C.'s "devastatingly unambitious" growth plan, and your Fourth Amendment right to refuse federal housing vouchers.
Trump Cuts Red Tape
Plus: An effective build-to-rent ban advances in Congress and Florida expands one of the country's most successful zoning reforms.
Elizabeth Warren Ruins Housing Again; Iran War Endgame?
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi return to discuss yet another bad idea from Elizabeth Warren and if the war in Iran will end sooner rather than later.
Bye-Bye Build-To-Rent
Plus: bad arguments in favor of a build-to-rent ban, a tanker plane crash kills four in Iraq, signs the Iran war isn't going so well, and more...
Congress' Housing Bill Goes From Small Supply Booster to Housing Killer
The Senate's proposed inclusion of an effective ban on build-to-rent housing in a bipartisan housing bill could significantly shrink new home production.
Mamdani's 'Rental Ripoff' Hearings Won't Fix New York Housing
Demonizing landlords might make for good social media, but it does nothing to reduce the regulations that make New York housing so expensive.
Sunnyside Yards and the Errors of Pro-Growth Progressivism
Plus: New Jersey property owners survive an eminent domain attempt based on bogus blight allegations, a corporate homebuyer ban is slipped into Congress' housing bill, and the true cost of permitting in L.A.
A 'Mansion Tax' in Los Angeles Is Worsening the City's Housing Crisis
A transfer tax on high-value real estate transactions is reducing the number of homes on the market and limiting new construction.
Thoughts on the Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Pung v. Isabella County Takings Case
Most of the discussion was focused on the wrong issue. What matters under the Takings Clause is not the "fairness" of the process by which the owner's house was taken, but whether he got adequate "just compensation."
Trump Demands Congress Ban Large Investors Owning Homes. Here's Why That's a Bad Idea.
Large investors are a small, beneficial presence in the single-family home market.
The Flaws of 'Funded' Inclusionary Zoning
Taxing new housing will always reduce housing production.
Austerity Socialism
What's a "tax the rich" mayor going to do when he can't actually tax the rich?
Florida Embraces New Urbanist Mega-Developments
Plus: Zohran Mamdani's rent rip-off hearings exclude public housing tenants, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is a "yes" on rent control, and the intersection of zoning and qualified immunity.
Can Congress Get 'YIMBY Grants' Right?
Plus: The House passes housing reform, Florida advances ADUs, and Zohran Mamdani hosts show trials for bad landlords.
Housing Policy Can Be Win-Win
Allowing more homes to be built on existing residential land would be good for homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders.
Trump: 'I Want To Drive Housing Prices Up'
The president says he would rather increase prices for homeowners than drive prices down.
Trump Issues Order Cracking Down on Corporate Homeownership
The president's order is not the comprehensive ban on large investor–owned housing that he promised. But it could still have a chilling effect on the single-family rental market.
The GOP Looks Increasingly Like a Home for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders
Many Republicans are now openly embracing ideas from the progressive playbook. Call them "Depublicans."
The Great Zoning Crackdown on Data Centers
Plus: The Trump administration wants to roll back "disparate impact" regulations, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to roll back environmental review regulations, and L.A. waives fees for wildfire rebuilds.
Yes, the Middle Class Is Shrinking—Because It's Moving Up
The real squeeze comes from government-distorted markets, not economic decline.
The 6 Ways Trump Tried To Control the Economy Last Week
From defense contracting and mortgage finance to credit, housing, and monetary policy, Trump is leaning heavily on command-and-control economics.
The Year of the Starter Home
Lawmakers across the country are introducing bills that would make it easier to build smaller single-family homes on small lots.
Trump's Proposed Ban on Institutional Investors Owning Single-Family Homes Would Make No One Better Off
While owning a very small percentage of single-family homes, large investors provide renters with more options and increase home construction rates.
Barring Institutional Investors From Buying Homes Won't Make Housing More Affordable - and Would Likely Make Things Worse
There is no evidence that institutional investors increase prices. Barring them from the market could actually exacerbate the housing crisis.
The Contradictions of Supply-Side Socialism
Zohran Mamdani signs executive orders to speed up new construction. His housing policy picks also want to abolish private property.
Do we have an income inequality problem?
A lot of people are worried about income inequality. Are they wrong?
Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London
I co-edited the symposium along with Eric Claeys and David Schleicher, and am also one of the contributors.
Unlearning History
Three decades after Massachusetts ended its disastrous experiment with rent control, voters are considering giving the policy another shot.
Is Zohran Mamdani Coming Around to Housing Deregulation?
New York's new mayor has moved away from some of his far-left beliefs, acknowledging that private businesses play an important role in homebuilding.
Would Star Trek's Transporter Destroy Cities or Save Them?
What a speculative technology can tell us about the demands for urban density and sprawl
Trump Blames Illegal Immigrants for High Housing Prices. Blame Zoning Instead.
Low-skilled immigrants would expand the supply of housing more than they increase demand, if local governments would just allow new construction.
Localism and the Limits of Regulating What We Love
When the perceived emotional harm from new development becomes a justification for state intervention, the law gets really arbitrary really quickly.
17 Ways Politicians Can Make Things Cheaper, Starting With Food, Health Care, and Appliances
A real affordability agenda would unleash free markets, not constrain them.
Sweating the Little Things
The freedom to build in-law suites and home additions is crucial, even if it doesn't get us all the way to housing "abundance."
Our Amicus Brief in the Pung v. Isabella County Home Equity Theft Takings Case
I wrote it (with help from others) on behalf of the Cato Institute and a group of takings and property scholars.
Non-Paywalled Version of My Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
The Cato Institute has posted one on its website.
What America Can Learn From Japanese Housing
On housing policy, America needs to be less fascist King Kong and more free-market Godzilla.
My New Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
We can make housing more affordable and empower people to "vote with their feet" by curbing exclusionary zoning. Left and right should support that instead of counterproductive snake oil like rent control, tariffs, and deportations.
The Horseshoe of Doom: Populists Left and Right Say America Is Failing. The Facts Don't.
When voters believe they're living through an economic apocalypse, they're willing to embrace the very policies that would create one.
In Connecticut, Zoning Reform Is Back From the Dead
Plus: A challenge to the Trump administration's shift away from "housing first" and reflections on the West's "Great Downzoning"
