The unhealthy information is that America’s housing affordability disaster has gotten even worse. Rents will most likely come down over time in locations the place housing building isn’t prevented by extreme regulation. (Sorry, that is one coverage space the place blue states usually get it flawed whereas many pink states get it proper.) However NIMBYism in locations like California and, sure, New York will do much more injury within the remote-work period.
The housing story, then, is that the pandemic modified the best way we dwell and work — or, extra possible, introduced ahead adjustments that had been going to occur finally. This led folks to need extra space at dwelling. And that’s OK. What we’d like now could be to let markets give folks what they need, at a value extra folks can afford.
That is from Paul Krugman, “Wonking Out: How the Distant Work Craze Made Housing Affordability Worse,” New York Instances, September 30, 2022.
HT2 Cyril Morong.
