Distrust and empowering everyone to equally be a NIMBY is a recipe for perpetual housing problems The recent defeat of SB 827–California State Senator Scott Wiener’s bill that would have legalized apartment construction in area’s
No exit from housing hell Read Post »
A powerful federal agency can override local laws limiting access to TV. But housing? Nope. Local control. It’s the bedrock principle of land use planning. Cities and neighborhoods should have absolute control over the kinds
What City Observatory did this week 1. Gerontopoly:Â Is homeownership a sure route to building wealth? It has been in the US, but increasingly, its only working for older generations. Homeowners 55 and older now
The Week Observed, April 27, 2018 Read Post »
Zillow’s data tracking prices of tens of millions of US homes adds further confirmation to the Dow of Cities For some time, we’ve been talking about the Dow of Cities:Â the notion that the price
Dow of Cities: Big data on the urban price premium Read Post »
Tax changes cut the Mortgage Interest Deduction sharply–but not for the rich The 1.2 percent of households with incomes over $500,000 get 20 times as much tax relief from the mortgage interest deduction as the
The Mortgage Interest Deduction: Smaller, but even more unfair Read Post »
Is the “dream” of homeownership really just a massive, intergenerational wealth transfer? Recently, that’s just how it has worked out. The takeaways: Homeownership is a gerontopoly. Most housing wealth is held by older Americans. Inequality
Gerontopoly: Homeownership, wealth, and age Read Post »
