Sunday, March 30, 2025

Economics

Stricter land-use regulations force builders to spread their efforts over a large number of relatively small projects, limiting the number of homes they’re able to build. This, in turn, limits their ability to invest in better homebuilding technology or otherwise take advantage of economies of scale.

Is land-use regulation holding back construction productivity?

Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work repeatedly when looking at land-use restrictions and burdens on new development. So I was very interested to see he’s coauthored...
L.A. homeless tower building cost rings bells

L.A. homeless tower building cost rings bells

Gym, balconies, restaurant, soundproof music studio, business center, located in downtown Los Angeles, and it’s pet friendly. Sounds like a pretty good hotel, four-stars at least. Sounds like it, but it isn’t. It’s the new Weingart...
Rents fall behind inflation

Rents fall behind inflation

Tracking rents is important for understanding the dynamics of the housing market. For example, the sharp increase in rents helped me deduce that there was a surge in household formation in 2021 (September 2021:...
Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

Market demand sets stage for few rent hikes

While asking rents for new leases nationally are running nearly flat over the past 12 months, those figures are heavily influenced by the Sunbelt, where record-high supply has turned rent growth negative in some...
Economics and the hidden order

Economics and the hidden order

The “real world” is calling. But the real world is a real mess. So how do we clean up the mess? That’s a massive task: too big for any one person. This looks like...
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