The one issue every economist can agree is bad: Rent control
But there are a few questions where there’s near unanimity, and rent control is one of them. Pretty much every economist agrees that rent controls are bad. And in the last decades of the...
Tax reform has potential to solve the housing affordability crisis
“Our tax system still siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power and reduces the incentive for risk, investment and effort.”
You might be forgiven if you...
Rent control is illegal
New York City recently implemented its far-reaching Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. That law enacted extensive amendments, all plaintiff protective, to New York’s 1969 Rent Stabilization Law (RSL). The Act imposes...
Money for nothing
In 1985, British rock band Dire Straits complained, “They ain’t workin’, that’s the way you do it; Money for nothing and your chicks for free.” The lyrics criticized the excesses of nouveau riche rock...
Home ownership may fall more than expected
Then JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, suggested that his bank could get out of the mortgage ownership business in the future. "Owning consumer assets may be something we don't want to do," Dimon said on...
Housing’s recession already happened?
A lot of people still expect the U.S. to fall into a recession. But for the housing market, the recession could already be in the rearview mirror.
Builders are sounding less downbeat than they were...
The cost of inaction
Most of us share a common trait: We are “housers.” We understand the foundational importance of the home.
Our homes, of course, meet a basic need—shelter. But our homes can and should also provide stability...
New lawsuit in Seattle: Housing ordinance is unfair and unconstitutional
Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, passed by city council in 2017, forbids landlords from considering applicants’ criminal histories when selecting tenants. In other words, landlords cannot base a rental decision on concerns over their...
How deregulating real estate markets can solve America’s shortage of affordable housing
The deregulation of real estate markets doesn’t just make economic sense. It is also a moral imperative.
In the early twentieth century, known as the “progressive era,” the United States embarked on a spree of...
Senate Bill 1217 makes first round, applauded by NMHC and NAA
The vote passed 13-9, which is one more vote than senators said they had during the first mark-up on April 29, when they decided to delay the bill in an effort to build a...
Raising minimum wage hurts workforce
The Senate Budget Committee’s blog says, “Top economists are backing Sen. Bernie Sanders on establishing a $15 an hour minimum wage.” It lists the names of 210 economists who call for increasing the federal...
Banning demon coal
One mystery of U.S. politics is why Al Gore, California billionaire Tom Steyer and the green lobby view President Obama as a disaster for global warming. Maybe nobody could satisfy their ambitions. But the...
The rule of law
In that environment, people could invest and plan for the future without worry about having their wealth seized. They could also go about their lives without worrying that a government official might target them...
NMHC weighs in on HUD
After considering the Administration’s goal as well as its previous attempts to shoehorn minorities into largely homogenous communities in which they otherwise could not afford to live, the author comes to this conclusion:
“Seemingly incapable...
More rent control in California will make the housing problem worse
Rent control is a terrible idea that just won’t die. The latest example is a new bill working its way through the California legislature that would cap annual rent increases at 5 percent for...
