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.
Rent control
Non-Paywalled Version of My Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
The Cato Institute has posted one on its website.
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.
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"
Can We Make Flophouses Great Again? And Should We?
The government destroyed the last century's privately provided housing safety net. Bringing it back is harder than you might think.
Mamdani's Win Offers Terrible Temptation for Democrats
Rent freezes will discourage construction, government-run grocery stores are a joke, and free buses will become roving homeless shelters.
Los Angeles City Council Votes To Lower Rent Caps on 650,000 Rent-Stabilized Apartments
The new rules would permit landlords to raise rents by a maximum of 4 percent per year, a decrease from the 8 percent maximum allowable increase under the current rules.
A New Lawsuit Says New York's Rent Law Is Forcing Landlords To Keep Apartments Empty
Landlords argue that rent caps on vacant units prevent them from financing the costs of legally mandated renovations.
The 50-Year Mortgage: Completely Fine or a Total Flop?
Mortgage experts are divided on the wisdom of a 50-year mortgage. No one seems to think it's the key to making homeownership affordable.
Good Riddance, Andrew Cuomo
The former governor had a bad record, a worse attitude, and zero vision.
6 Zohran Mamdani Campaign Promises That New York City Can't Afford
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor by promising New Yorkers “free” programs and services with their own money.
Election Day
What races in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia can tell us about the future of housing policy.
Mamdani's Socialist Mayorship Will Make New York a Worse Place To Live and Do Business
His plans to offer "free" buses and daycare, freeze rents, and create city-owned grocery stores are expensive and proven failures.
Abolish Property Taxes?
Florida Republicans propose not one, not two, but seven different constitutional amendments to cap, cut, or even eliminate property taxes.
Zohran Mamdani's Socialist Housing Plan Could Crash New York's Rickety Rental Market
The city has the nation’s most regulated housing sector and the largest stock of government-owned and subsidized housing, and yet progressives blame its real estate troubles on the free market.
Democrats' Bill Would Let Federal Workers Skip Paying Rent During Government Shutdowns
Suspending federal workers' civil obligations during government shutdowns would be bad news for property rights, landlords, and tenants.
Steamed NIMBYs Mandated Saunas To Stop New Housing
Several Lone Star cities are attempting to undermine new state-level zoning reforms by requiring new apartment buildings come with ritzy amenities.
My New Boston Globe Article on Why Massachusetts Should Reject Rent Control, and Instead End Exclusionary Zoning
Rent control would only make the housing crisis worse. Zoning reform would make things better.
Andrew Cuomo Proposes 'Zohran's Law' To Fix the Unfairness of Rent Law Cuomo Signed
Plus: Why Blackstone is good, actually, and a Georgia judge rules for tiny homes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Oh, Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan to create a federal housing developer is a terrible idea.
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.
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.
Javier Milei Promised To Take a 'Chainsaw' to Argentina's Government. It's Working.
Inflation and rent prices are down, and the country has a budget surplus.
Regulations Keep Millions of Bedrooms Empty During a Housing Crisis
Zoning laws, occupancy limits, and short-term rental restrictions are keeping housing off the market and driving up costs.
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
Will Doug Burgum Be Donald Trump's Housing Czar?
Plus: Democrats' housing-lite postelection recriminations and yet another ballot box defeat for pro–rent control forces in California.
Justice Gorsuch Wants To Hear More (Takings) Cases
Justice Gorsuch shows more interest in property rights challenges than his colleagues on the Court.
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames
A related initiative preventing the state's most prolific rent control–supporting nonprofit from funding future initiatives is headed for a narrow victory.
The Year's Most Important Housing Vote
Proposition 33 would repeal all of California's state-level limits on rent control. It's passage could prove to be a disaster for housing supply in the Golden State.
Expanding Rent Control Will Not Make Housing More Affordable for the Disabled
Advocates unconvincingly argue that repealing California's limits on rent control will open up more housing for people with disabilities.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Keep Making Economically Illiterate Promises
These policies may sound good on paper—but they would be disastrous in reality.
Argentina Ended Rent Control. Guess What Happened Next.
A free market for housing is one that benefits both renters and landlords.
How Milton Friedman Can Help Us Get Through Hurricane Milton
To give storm victims the best chance at recovery, let local knowledge and markets guide decisions.
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.
Kamala Harris Is Not an Ideas Candidate
Columnists keep trying to find a coherent philosophy behind Harris' confused and contradictory policy agenda.
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.
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 Netherlands' Rent Control Disaster
The Dutch government's radical expansion of rent control is displacing tenants and aggravating a preexisting housing shortage.
My New The Hill Article on How Trump and Harris Cater to Political Ignorance
Both propose awful economic policies that appeal to public ignorance.
