I have a new op-ed at the Arizona Republic that goes into the local implications of the chain of displacement that I described in a recent substack post. Here are some visualizations and data sources cited in the op-ed. Figure 1 compares the average hourly earnings for the US and for the Phoenix metro area.
What's ironic is that Arizona shows a better rebound from the Great Recession in terms of housing starts than many other places. It's still not enough.
Yglesias has a good piece on housing this week. He singles out my home state of New Hampshire for particular criticism, which is entirely appropriate. Community level zoning regulations in that state are explicitly written, and modified periodically, to prevent new housing. How did Ben Cole phrase it?: "There are no atheists in foxholes, and there are no Libertarians when it comes to zoning."
My new piece on home affordability at AZ Central
What's ironic is that Arizona shows a better rebound from the Great Recession in terms of housing starts than many other places. It's still not enough.
Yglesias has a good piece on housing this week. He singles out my home state of New Hampshire for particular criticism, which is entirely appropriate. Community level zoning regulations in that state are explicitly written, and modified periodically, to prevent new housing. How did Ben Cole phrase it?: "There are no atheists in foxholes, and there are no Libertarians when it comes to zoning."
Even Phoenix?
Am I reading this right?
It took forty hours of work a month to pay the rent in 2015 and now 60 hours a month?
Housing costs are undercutting living standards in so many places---Canada, Australia, London, Hong Kong, West Coast. NZ has gone nuts.
What gives?