Housing Production

If You Tax the Things You Want Less of …

Los Angeles voters passed Measure ULA in 2022 to tax real estate sales over $5 million in order to fund subsidized housing programs. But new research from UCLA and RAND finds that the policy may be slowing the growth of…

A Stronger Builders Remedy: AB 1893

AB 1893 makes the Builder’s Remedy a more effective tool for housing production by providing greater legal clarity and certainty for home builders who use it in localities that are out of compliance with state housing law. The bill moves…

The Tradeoffs of Inclusionary Zoning: A Closer Look​

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ), the practice of requiring home builders to set aside some units in new housing construction to be rented at below-market rates (BMR) to low-income households, is a popular strategy to increase the production of affordable housing while…

By-Right Approvals: The Better Part of Housing Valor

Most housing and commercial developments in California cities go through a series of reviews by various government bodies before they are approved for construction, or “entitled” – and those processes differ dramatically.  In many cases, projects are approved “by right”…

The Effect of New Luxury Housing on Regional Housing Affordability

Published: 2019 | Evan Mast | The Captured Economy Abstract I study the short-run effect of new housing construction on housing affordability using individual address history data. Because most new construction is expensive, its effect on the market for more…

Sand Castles Before the Tide? Affordable Housing in Expensive Cities

Published: 2019 | Gabriel Metcalf | The Journal of Economic Prespectives Abstract This article focuses on cities with unprecedented economic success and a seemingly permanent crisis of affordable housing. In the expensive cities, policymakers expend great amounts of energy trying…