California Passes Important New YIMBY Housing Law
The new legislation exempts most new urban housing construction from the previously often stifling CEQA law. YIMBY ("yes in my backyard") advocates are cheering.
Housing Policy
California Enacts Sweeping Exemption to Development-Killing Environmental Law
Plus: Real rent decreases in New York City, the return of missing middle housing in Virginia, and how everyone's a socialist on housing in New York.
New Jersey Towns Face Setback in Lawsuit Against State's Affordable Housing Mandate
Despite this setback, a coalition of municipalities is challenging the state’s housing program in federal court.
How Texas Beat California on Housing
YIMBY policies in Texas have led to lower rents and increasing supply. The same cannot be said for California.
The Problem With Mike Lee's Public Lands Proposal Is That It Doesn't Sell Off Enough Land
America's housing shortage is worst in Western states. That's also where the federal government owns the most land.
On Housing, All New York Politicians Are Socialists
Allegedly sane, centrist opponents of New York City's socialist mayoral candidate are all too happy to regulate rental housing into the ground.
Stealing the Farm
Plus: housing reform is killed in Connecticut, bonus ADUs are gutted in San Diego, and two decades of Supreme Court-enabled eminent domain abuse.
Why Do Republicans Support the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit?
Publicly funded homes in some cities are costing taxpayers more than $1 million per unit, but Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would increase funding for these inefficient projects.
The Federal Government Owns Too Much Land. Selling It Helps Rural Communities.
Why Sen. Mike Lee's plan to sell public land doesn't go far enough
My Forthcoming Article on " Public Use, Exclusionary Zoning, and Democracy"
It is part of the Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London.
SpaceX's New Company Town Considers Adopting NIMBY Zoning Code
Starbase, Texas, is rushing to restrict development in the newly incorporated city.
New Study Highlights Housing Shortages Caused by Regulatory Barriers to Construction
The study by leading housing economists Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko finds there are 15 milion fewer housing units in the US than there would be if construction in 2000-2020 had continued at the same pace as in 1980-2000.
Starter Homes Live in Texas, Die in Arizona
Plus: A new constitutional challenge to inclusionary zoning fees, a vetoed ban on rent-recommendation software, and a ill-conceived rent freeze in New York City.
How Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Could Make Housing Even More Expensive
Out-of-control housing costs helped Trump win the 2024 election. Is he about to make the problem worse?
Texas Revs the Growth Machine
Plus: The near death of starter-home reform in Texas, Colorado's pending ban on rent-recommendation software, and a very Catholic story of eminent domain abuse.
A Major Property Rights Case Idles on Supreme Court Docket
The Court has been punting for months on whether it will take up a legal challenge brought by Los Angeles landlords alleging their city's COVID-era eviction ban was a physical taking.
Gavin Newsom Wants To Make the Country's Most Expensive Gas Even More Expensive
All to shovel more money at wasteful and ineffective programs.
Miami Beach Homeless Arrests Spiked in February Under Anticamping Law
During one week in February, arrests of homeless people accounted for 66 percent of all arrests in Miami Beach.
New Jersey Town Uses Flimsy Blight Allegations To Seize Tire Shop, Apartment Building
Plus: The White House proposes stiff funding cuts at HUD, Baltimore proposes "missing middle" reforms, and Gov. Gavin Newsom urges local governments to clear encampments.
New Jersey Town Says Small Setbacks, Stray Cats Allow It To Seize Private Property
Two business owners say the city of Perth Amboy is using exceedingly flimsy blight allegations to take, and potentially demolish, their property.
Rent Control Delayed but Not Dead in California
Plus: Arkansas legalizes ADUs, activists sue to stop missing middle housing, and Trump's housing plans for federal lands
California's Environmental Regulations Are a Mess. Why Won't Lawmakers Fix Them?
The California Environmental Quality Act has created a regulatory nightmare.
Trump Doesn't Need the Fed To Fix Housing
Former Rep. Ron Paul argues that slashing red tape will do more to bring down home prices than pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates.
Back to Basics
Plus: California zoning bill survives powerful lawmaker's economic illiteracy, Montana legislators pass simple, sweeping, supply-side housing reforms, and Washington passes rent control.
Will the 'Abundance' Agenda Make California Great Again?
Democrats would have a stronger rebuke to Trumpism if civic service in blue states were the national model rather than a laughingstock.
California Housing Bills Face Crucial Hearing Today
Bills designed to allow more starter homes and apartments near transit face an uncertain future in the state Senate's housing committee.
Hawaii County Tells Homeowner His 38-Year-Old House Is Actually Illegal
Shahzaad Ausman has had to sue the county to confirm that he can continue to live in his own home.
Derek Thompson: Democrats Must Change
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson urges Democrats to embrace more libertarian, pro-growth policies in his new book.
Oh, Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan to create a federal housing developer is a terrible idea.
Comic: The Bottom-Up POV of Jane Jacobs
Challenging the common knowledge of urban planning
Federalist Society Webinar on "The California Wildfires and America's Housing Shortage"
The panelists included M. Nolan Gray, Jennifer Hernandez, and myself.
Judge Orders Rhode Island Town To Return Secretly Seized Land to Affordable Housing Developer
Plus: the federal government tries to stiff landlords over eviction moratorium one last time, the Supreme Court declines to take up eminent domain case, and starter home bills advance in Arizona and Texas.
Lawsuit Challenges Use of Eminent Domain as NIMBY Tool to Block Housing Project
A Rhode Island town seeks to use eminent domain to block construction of a large-scale affordable housing project.
Review: A Novel About Pronatalist Government Programs
Set in South Korea, Apartment Women reflects real concerns about the country's lagging birth rate.
Town Secretly Seizes Developers' Property Then Threatens Them With Trespassing Citation
The owners, who were planning an affordable housing project on the site, first learned about the seizure from the mayor's social media post.
Lawn-Sign Liberalism vs. Supply-Side Progressivism
"Supply-side progressives" like Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson are ultimately technocrats, not libertarians. But they recognize that more is better than less and that a good society is not zero-sum.
The Federal Government Has a Lot of Unused Land. Can We Sell It Off To Build Houses?
One proposal would create a streamlined process for selling off federal land to state and local governments, but only if they allow housing to be built on it.
J.D. Vance Blames Zoning, Immigrants for High Housing Costs
Plus: Texas and Minnesota consider an aggressive suite of housing supply bills, while San Diego tries to ratchet up regulations on ADUs.
The 'Montana Miracle' Vindicated in Court
On Monday, a Montana judge roundly rejected homeowners' legal challenge to new laws allowing duplexes and accessory dwelling units in single-family areas.
Upcoming Event on "Solving the Nation's Housing Crisis"
Economist Bryan Caplan and I will speak at event sponsored by the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
Fresh Starts on Starter Homes
Lawmakers in Arizona and California are attempting to overcome local resistance to meaningful starter home reforms.
The Best of Reason: Javier Milei Ended Rent Control. Now the Argentine Real Estate Market Is Coming Back to Life.
"The effects were immediately seen by everyone and they were all beneficial," says the former vice president of Argentina's central bank.
Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
The Best of Reason: How the Fair Housing Act Gave Us Emotional Support Parrots
The right to a reasonable accommodation has produced some absurd results.
Why Are We Fighting?
When regulations limit what kind of housing can be built, the result is endless arguments about what people really want.
