The Dark Side of Housing Bipartisanship
Plus: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is fooled by TikTok housing falsehoods, Austin building boom cuts prices, and Sacramento does the socialist version of "homeless homesteading."
Affordable Housing
Rent Free Q&A: Jared Polis
The Colorado governor talks about live housing reforms in the state legislature, the federal role in housing policy, and whether we should abolish zoning completely.
Does This Laundry Look 'Historic' to You?
Plus: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs dithers over whether to veto bipartisan Starter Homes bill, Biden says "build, build, build," and Massachusetts sues anti-apartment suburb.
A Brand New City in Northern California Will Show if the State Is Serious About Housing Solutions
The project might determine whether new generations will be able to take part in the American Dream.
Biden's Plan To Subsidize Homebuyers Won't Work
The president's laundry list of proposed tax credits would likely make the problem of high housing costs worse.
Here's Why Government Should Stop Throwing Money at Green Energy
In California, which has a slew of renewable energy regulations, the cost of electricity increased three times faster than in the rest of the U.S.—and the state still doesn't even get reliable energy.
Fear, Loathing, and Zoning Reform in Minnesota
Plus: The man who would build an ADU, the zoning theory of child care, and tiny home red tape in Hawaii.
The Feds Give States Millions To Fix Homelessness, but States Are Sending It Back
Bureaucratic ineptitude leads to waste—and more people on the streets.
After Supreme Court Denies Cases, Clarence Thomas Offers Hope to Rent Control Critics
Thomas agreed with the Court's decision to not take up two challenges to New York's rent stabilization law but said the constitutionality of rent control "is an important and pressing question."
Good Times, Bad Times: Eviction Edition
Plus: Voters in Massachusetts reject state-mandated upzonings, Florida localities rebel against a surprisingly effective YIMBY reform, and lawsuits target missing middle housing in Virginia.
New Article on "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning"
Coauthor Josh Braver and I argue exclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
New York, New York
Plus: rent control behind financial problems at NYCB, public housing's corruption problem, and New York City's near-zero vacancy rate.
Do Americans Really Only Want Sprawl?
Plus: the House votes for more affordable housing subsidies, Portland tries to fix its "inclusionary housing" program, and is 2024 the year of the granny flat?
The 2 Reasons California's YIMBY Reforms Are Failing
Plus: Ohio church sues the city trying to shut down its homeless services, another indigenous-owned megaproject approved in Vancouver, B.C., and a new report shows rapidly deteriorating housing affordability.
Princeton's Matthew Desmond Gets Everything Wrong About Poverty's Root Causes
Desmond's analysis never goes deeper than his facile assertion that "poverty persists because some wish and will it to."
Zoning Board Orders Longtime Tenants' Homes Dismantled
Plus: the Supreme Court weighs housing fees and homelessness, YIMBYs bet on smaller, more focused reforms, and a new paper finds legalizing more housing does in fact bring costs down.
Rent Control for the Rich
Plus: Fort Collins tries passing zoning reform for the third time, Coastal California cracks down on Airbnbs, and state lawmakers try to unban rent control.
Welfare Is Great—for the Welfare Bureaucrats
The clients get a confusing maze and a lot of incentives to stay on welfare.
12 Increasingly Off-the-Wall Housing Reforms
American cities and states passed a lot of good, incremental housing reforms in 2023. In 2024, we'd benefit from trying out some long shot ideas.
Controversy Over an Important Article Finding Large Negative Effects of Zoning
Economist Brian Greaney may have found serious methodological errors in a much-cited 2019 article by Enrico Moretti and Chang-Tai Hsieh.
The Best of Reason: The Abundance Agenda Promises Everything to Everyone All at Once
Some progressives want to remove bureaucratic obstacles to growth—in the service of Democrats and big government.
The Abundance Agenda Promises Everything to Everyone All at Once
Some progressives want to remove bureaucratic obstacles to growth—in the service of Democrats and big government.
'Unhinged' 'Scum' Ramaswamy Shows His YIMBY Side
"Land use restrictions are constricting the supply of housing," said Ramaswamy at tonight's GOP presidential debate in Miami.
House GOP Threatens To Kill 'Baby YIMBY Grant' Program After First Year
The Democrat-controlled Senate meanwhile is proposing to expand the program.
Bill Maher Attacks 'the Real Deep State' of Government Regulators, Administrators, and Zoning Officers
The comedian blames America's endless reams of regulatory red tape for slowing down new wind farms, housing, and public toilets.
Damning New Audit Finds San Francisco Takes 3 Years To Approve New Housing
The state housing officials who performed the audit describe San Francisco's approval process as a "notoriously complex and cumbersome" mess.
St. Paul Passes Politically Practical, Economically Unproductive Zoning Reforms
Missing middle housing reforms are getting more popular. But they're not getting much more productive.
Cities Want 'YIMBY Grants' To Pay for Bureaucratic Busy Work
Cities are asking for federal zoning-reform dollars to pay for plans that might never pass.
Volokh Conspiracy Gets Results on Immigration and Zoning Policy
Federal and New York City officials recently adopted policy changes on migrant work permits and zoning reform similar to those advocated here (though probably not because I advocated them!)..
The Hidden Failures of Social Housing in 'Red Vienna'
A new report details how the city's famed social housing system is suffering from diminishing affordability, deteriorating quality, and funding shortfalls.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Backtracks on YIMBY Emergency Order
In the face of lawsuits and accusations of attempted "genocide," Green is restoring many homebuilding regulations he suspended in July.
YIMBY Progress In California
The state legislature recently passed significant new laws constraining exclusionary zoning, thereby making it easier for property owners to build much-needed new housing on their land.
California Legislature Passes Slew of YIMBY Reforms
Two bills approved by the Legislature this week will make it easier to build affordable housing on church land and in coastal areas.
What's the Libertarian Answer to New York's Migrant Crisis?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to name America's unsung or undersung heroes.
Critics Sue Over Hawaii's Housing Deregulation, Calling It Attempted 'Genocide'
A coalition including the state ACLU, Sierra Club, and Native Hawaiian cultural groups argue Gov. Josh Green vastly exceeded his emergency powers when he waived most regulations on homebuilding.
Judge Rules Minneapolis' Zoning Reforms Are Getting Too Much Housing Built
Plus: Political campaigns will have to disclose if they use AI in their ads, the effort to rehabilitate rent control rumbles on, and more...
California Coastal Cities' Housing Plan: Build Elsewhere
Republican-controlled Huntington Beach has sued the state government to stop enforcement of state housing mandates.
To Tackle Highest Housing Costs in the Country, Hawaii's Governor Declares YIMBY Martial Law
An emergency proclamation by Gov. Josh Green offers developers the opportunity to route around almost all regulations on building homes.
New York's Migrant Crisis is Caused by a Combination of Federal Work Restrictions and Local Zoning Policy
It's the predictable result of the combination of federal regulations barring asylum seekers from working legally and local policies offering free housing, while severely restricting new housing construction.
A New Bill Would Extend California's YIMBY Revolution to Heavily Regulated Coastal Areas
S.B. 423 would prevent the state's powerful Coastal Commission from shooting down affordable housing projects that comply with local zoning laws.
Valuable Mercatus Center Study Surveys Progress and Setbacks in the Struggle Against Exclusionary Zoning
Eli Kahn and Salim Furth provide overview of developments in the states, and lessons that can be learned.
ACLU-Backed Complaint Says Not Renting to People With Past Evictions Is Illegal Race, Sex Discrimination
HOPE Fair Housing Center argues in a new federal complaint that an Illinois landlord's blanket refusal to rent to people with eviction records amounts to illegal sex and race discrimination.
Declaring a 'Right' to Housing Won't Solve Homelessness
Instead, try making it easier to build more housing!
Zoning Police Criminalize Kindness in Oregon
A town clamps down on distributing clothes, personal care items, and food to the homeless.
Study: San Francisco Rent Control Expansion Led to More Evictions
A new study from researchers at Northwestern University found that landlords were incentivized by rising rents to replace existing tenants with new market-rate-paying tenants.