Is Kamala Harris Really a YIMBY?
Harris rightly calls out regulations for causing the housing shortage, but she also supports rent control policies that will make it worse.
Affordable Housing
Contra J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, Housing Should Be a 'Commodity'
Housing is unaffordable because regulations have prevented its commodification.
America's Trial Courts Have a NIMBY Problem
Plus: the transformation of California's builder's remedy, the zoning reform implications of the Eric Adams indictment, and why the military killed starter home reform in Arizona.
Virginia Court Rules Against Arlington "Missing Middle" Zoning Reform
The ruling highlights need for state-level zoning reform and stronger judicial protection of constitutional property rights.
Could Eric Adams' Corruption Charges Sink His Signature Zoning Reform?
The New York City Council takes up the mayor's City of Yes for Housing Opportunity reform package the same day Adams is indicted on federal corruption charges.
Rents Fall and Listings Increase After Javier Milei Ends Rent Control In Argentina
Javier Milei’s repeal of restrictive rent control laws increased housing supply and stabilized prices.
Jeremy Horpedahl: Are Millennials and Gen Z Actually Worse Off Than Their Parents?
Economist Jeremy Horpedahl breaks down the economic outlook for Millennials and Gen Z and assesses how the 2024 presidential candidates' policies stack up against reality.
California County Fines Man $120,000 for Refusing to Evict a Family From His Property
Plus, a look at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Tina Smith's plan to resurrect public housing in America.
Deregulation Can Fix the Housing Crunch
Increasing the supply of housing requires looser rules and fewer bureaucratic delays.
Tim Scott Wants to Deregulate Manufactured Housing
Plus: An alleged slumlord gets a "tenant empowerment" grant, Seattle's affordable housing mandates lead to less housing, D.C.'s affordable housing crisis.
New Study on How to Address Public Ignorance About Housing Policy
New data shows that "housing supply skeptics" can be persuaded by evidence showing that allowing more construction reduces prices. But not clear this is a good road map for addressing the problem of public ignorance in the real world.
Biden Administration Gives $10 Million Grant to Non-Profit Accused of Running 'Inhumane' Slum Housing
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been dogged by accusations that it operates dangerous, dilapidated housing. Now, it'll distribute taxpayer dollars to tenant groups fighting for better living conditions.
The First Amendment Right To 'Greenmail' Developers
Plus: The Montana Supreme Court rescues zoning reform, and a new challenge to inclusionary zoning.
The Netherlands' Rent Control Disaster
The Dutch government's radical expansion of rent control is displacing tenants and aggravating a preexisting housing shortage.
The Government's Permitting Regime Is Choking the Economy
Housing costs, job availability, energy prices, and technological advancement all hinge on a web of red tape that is leaving Americans poorer and less free.
My New The Hill Article on How Trump and Harris Cater to Political Ignorance
Both propose awful economic policies that appeal to public ignorance.
What the Federal Government Can do to Alleviate the Housing Crisis
Harvard economist Edward Glaeser, a leading expert on housing policy, offers some ideas on how Congress can use conditional spending to break down barriers to housing construction.
California Legislature Extends Exhausted Homebuyer Subsidies to Illegal Immigrants
There would seem to be little added fairness, and little added incentive for illegal immigration, in letting more people draw from a well that's already run dry.
YIMBYs' Premature Victory Dance at the DNC
Kamala Harris' promise to end the housing shortage and adopt rent control shows that YIMBY ideas are just one of several competing housing policy agendas within the Democratic Party.
Kamala Harris' Affordability Agenda Is a Good Idea Backed by Terrible Policies
Americans need a politician dedicated to unwinding decades of government interventions that have driven up the cost of middle-class living.
San Francisco City Council Targets Free Speech To Cover Up Its Own Housing Failures
Desperate to control soaring rents, the city council bans rental data tools while ignoring its own role in the housing crisis.
Tim Walz's Other Stolen Valor Scandal
The Minnesota governor is being hailed as a YIMBY zoning reformer despite doing nothing of consequence on the issue.
The Housing Theory of Childless Cat Ladies
Would a YIMBY building boom rejuvenate urban family life or produce sterile, megacity hellscapes?
No Muslims In My Backyard?
Plus: Kamala Harris doubles down on rent control, Gavin Newsom issues a new executive order on housing, and the natural tendency to keep adding more regulation.
RFK Jr. Pays Lip Service to the Debt While Pushing Policies That Would Increase It
It's good to hear a candidate actually talk about our spending problem. But his campaign promises would exacerbate it.
California Forever, Forever
The company needs a lot of government permission slips to build its planned new city in the Bay Area. It's now changing the order in which it asks for them.
Coconut Trees, Price Controls, and Demand Subsidies
Plus: Gainesville shrinks minimum lot sizes, a Colorado church can keep providing shelter to the homeless, and Berkeley considers allowing small apartments everywhere.
Mercatus Center Study Documents Progress on Housing Reform
Many states have enacted laws curbing exclusionary zoning and other regulations that block new housing construction.
Trump Changes His Mind on Zoning. Again.
Whoever is president has very weak incentives to get zoning reform right.
Biden's Badly Flawed New Housing Plan
It combines nationwide rent control with modest supply-side measures potentially freeing up "underutilized" federal property for housing construction.
Joe Biden Loves Rent Control, J.D. Vance Hates BlackRock
Republicans and Democrats have both managed to get worse on housing policy in the past week.
The 2024 GOP Platform Promises To 'Make America Affordable Again.' So Why Are They Embracing Fiscal Insanity?
Although former President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda would make some positive changes, it's simply not enough.
Biden vs. Trump: Housing Policy Edition
How do the two major party candidates stack up on housing policy?
Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. Are All Anti-Freedom
Those three presidential candidates are making promises that would have bewildered and horrified the Founding Fathers.
Supreme Court Rules That Punishing the Homeless for Sleeping Outside Isn't 'Cruel and Unusual'
Homeless advocates say the court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson gives local governments a blank check to "to arrest or fine those with no choice but to sleep outdoors."
RealPage Conspiracy Theories
The media, state attorneys general, and the Biden administration are blaming rent-recommendation software for rising rents. Normal stories of supply and demand are the more reasonable explanation.
New York Cuts Real Rents at Rent-Stabilized Apartments
The city's Rent Guidelines Board approved a nominal 2.75 rent increase for one million rent-stabilized apartments. That's below the year's 3.3 percent inflation rate.
"Yes in God's Backyard" - A Useful, But Limited Form of Housing Deregulation
There is a growing movement to let churches and other religious organizations build housing on their property that would otherwise be banned by zoning regulations.
NIMBY Towns, Fake Parks, and Eminent Domain
Plus: unpermitted ADUs in San Jose, Sen. J.D. Vance's mass deportation plan for housing affordability, and the California Coastal Commission's anti-housing record.
New Atlantic Article on "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning"
It is coauthored with Josh Braver.
Will This Bill Save or Scuttle California's Builder's Remedy?
Plus: Sen. John Fetterman introduces a new zoning reform bill, U.C. Berkeley finally beats the NIMBYs in court, and Austin's unwise "equity overlay."
Conflicting Evidence on Public Support for YIMBY Zoning Reform
Recent studies diverge on the extent to which public opinion backs policies that would deregulate housing construction. YIMBYs would do well to learn from both.
Essay on "How Constitutional Litigation Can Help End Exclusionary Zoning"
A guest post on economist Bryan Caplan's Bet On It substack.
The Housing Policy Implications of Taylor Swift
Plus: An interview with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about the state's blockbuster year for housing reform.
Bryan Caplan: How Regulation Makes Housing More Expensive
Moving is no longer a viable way to grow your wealth in the U.S., says the author of Build, Baby, Build.
The Rise of the Bedroom Counters
Plus: The results of rent control are in, California's tiny home program gets minimal results, and yet another city eyes a crackdown on short-term rentals.
Tacos, Sandwiches, and Zoning
Plus: Austin shrinks its minimum lot sizes, Florida builds on past zoning reforms, and Arizona passes ADU and missing middle bills.
