Trump Reportedly Rejected Building Codes for His White House Ballroom
“I am the code,” he told the architect, according to The Washington Post.
Housing Policy
The Far-Left Wins Berlin's Election on the Promise of Seizing Private Apartments
The Left wants to cure the city's high housing costs by expropriating 225,000 apartments owned by large real estate corporations.
Reflections on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Privacy Fence
Don't expect the celebrity couple's battle with local planning officials over a privacy fence to turn them into YIMBYs.
DOJ Says Workers at L.A. Homeless Nonprofits Spent Tax Dollars on Vacations, Nightclubs, Bail
Three people in the Los Angeles area have been charged with fraud related to misappropriation of homelessness funds.
Rent Control's Revenge
While San Francisco's mayor calls for more rent control, Providence's mayor loses his primary for opposing the policy.
In Rhode Island's Dem Primary, DSA Challenger Unseats Providence Mayor Who'd Vetoed Rent Control
Voters in Providence, Rhode Island, signaled that they want binding price controls.
The Silver Lining to Empty Subsidized Apartments
Plus: A nightmare squatting situation in Washington, D.C.
Help Workers by Breaking Down Barriers to Labor Mobility
Labor Day is a great time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet, both within countries and through international migration.
How St. Paul's Rent Control Experiment Backfired Spectacularly
Construction of new housing collapsed in the Minnesota city as builders took their business elsewhere.
Federalism Will Save the Data Centers
State preemption worked for housing. It's unlikely to come to the rescue of incredibly unpopular data centers.
How Much Will Andy Burnham's 'No. 10 North' Cost British Taxpayers?
Taxpayers have already paid $14,300 for branding the new office—and more than $1,300 for moving a replica Downing Street door to Manchester, according to a Freedom of Information request.
California Bill Would Cap Rents During U.S.-Involved War
The war in Iran is causing California lawmakers to consider wider price controls.
San Francisco's 'Historic Laundromat' Project Finally Begins Construction
Activists were able to block an apartment project in the city's Mission District by raising an increasingly ridiculous set of objections.
The Trump Administration's Secret YIMBY Grant Proposal
Plus: a win for "housing first" funding in court, zoning reform passes in North Carolina, and Harry Potter NIMBYism.
Klein and Thompson's Abundance Shows Abundant Lack of Introspection
The authors recognize the need to reconsider policies that make it hard to innovate and build, but do not ask why they and their allies were blind to such concerns for so long.
America Invented Elevators. Now We Suck at Building Them.
America’s elevator shortage is making housing more expensive, buildings less accessible, and cities less dynamic—all because of bad regulations and union protectionism.
The YIMBY-Libertarian Convergence
An eminent domain case out of Rhode Island shows how YIMBY regulatory reforms and libertarian constitutional law activism work in tandem.
Federal Court Rules Against Rhode Island Town's Use of Eminent Domain for NIMBY Purposes
The local government sought to use eminent domain to block a housing project local NIMBYs objected to.
New NYU Brennan Center Article on "Using State Constitutions to Combat Exclusionary Zoning"
It explains how to better use both existing state constitutional provisions, and constitutional amendments. Based on a longer academic article, coauthored with Joshua Braver.
Federal Court Slaps Down Rhode Island Town's Surprise Seizure of Family's Land
A district court ruled that Johnston, Rhode Island, can't use its own bespoke eminent domain process to block an affordable housing development.
New Article on "The State Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning"
It is the first comprehensive analysis of how to use state constitutional law to combat exclusionary zoning. Coauthored with Josh Braver.
A Year After the Wildfires, L.A. Homelessness Spikes
Plus: A new lawsuit challenges New York's rent freeze, a study affirms new supply helps everyone, and the battle between data centers and clouded leopards.
For Thousands of New York City Apartment Buildings, the Math Doesn't Math
This year’s rent freeze is just the latest regulation pushing New York City’s rent-stabilized housing stock toward financial and physical collapse.
The DSA, MAGA, and the New Policy Nihilism
From rent control and Medicare for All to tariffs, politicians left and right are embracing policy ideas that have been repeatedly shown to not work.
When Is a Park Fee Unconstitutional?
Plus: San Francisco slashes affordable housing mandates, wide support for streamlining environmental review, and Mamdani's rent ripoff report.
Mamdani's Zombie Apartment Nightmare
New York’s rent freeze will turn more rent-stabilized units into unlivable “zombie apartments.”
Taking the W
Developers rush to use California's new apartments-near-transit law, North Carolina eliminates parking requirements, and the federal housing bill finally becomes law.
Did Lindsey Graham Push Trump Toward War?
Plus: Trump's escalating war with Iran, the bipartisan congressional housing bill, and Graham Platner's campaign collapse
Europe, A.C., and the Housing Exception to America's Economic Success Story
Plus: L.A. criminally charges contractors offering to build an ADU in the Palisades, South Carolina streamlines squatter removal, and a Florida city uses eminent domain to thwart state housing law.
Reason Earns 7 Southern California Journalism Awards
First-place wins include work on America's gerontocracy, an interview with anti–death penalty activist Helen Prejean, and some Star Wars comedy.
Housing Villains
Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani both do their bit to sabotage healthy housing policy.
Is Socialism Going Mainstream?
Plus: the DSA's policy agenda, Trump's chaotic Iran strategy, and America's 250th birthday
Mamdani Got His Rent Freeze Wish. Don't Expect New York City Housing To Become More Affordable.
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze rent for approximately 1 million apartments on Thursday night.
Cato Institute Podcast on Possible "Abundance Alliance" Between Libertarians and Abundance Liberals
I took part along with prominent abundance liberalism advocate Jeremiah Johnson.
The Housing Bill Trump Won't Sign
Plus: Mamdani's rent freeze, Darializa's "no jail for murderers" stance, inflation ticks up, and more...
Supreme Court Issues Terrible Takings Decision in Pung v. Isabella County
The Court ruled that local goverments may pay compensation far below fair market value for property seized in tax foreclosures.
Who Can't Afford Food?
Plus: Iran deal, J.D. Vance on morality, L.A. hemorrhages population, and more...
Pick Your YIMBY
The D.C. mayoral race offers two leading candidates who are saying a lot of the right things about housing supply.
My New Washington Post Op ed on NYC Mayor Mamdani's Unconstitutional Housing Policy
His plan to expropriate rental housing violates the Takings Clause, and would exacerbate the City's housing crisis rather than alleviate it.
Streamlining and Taxes
New York lawmakers exempt some housing from the state's environmental review law while piling taxes on second homes.
California Conservatives Champion 'Local Control' Until They Dislike the Results
Conservatives want local control over housing policy, but they're happy to let the state restrict when local governments can raise taxes.
Fewer Migrants, Fewer Homeless
The rare reported fall in the nation's homeless population is mostly the result of the ebbing migrant surge of 2023 and 2024.
Stop Giving Property Tax Breaks to Senior Citizens
If the government does not reduce the cost of public services, then a special tax break for one group merely forces everyone else to pick up the slack.
5 Bills Signed by Wes Moore That Will Impact Housing and AI Development in Maryland
Couched with good intentions, new laws aimed at housing and artificial intelligence development will add more layers of red tape to Maryland’s growing bureaucracy.
