Housing Policy
Yes, the middle class is shrinking—because it’s moving up
"The middle class is shrinking" might be the assertion of the decade. Progressives and populists alike use it to justify nearly all government interventions, from tariffs to minimum-wage hikes to massive spending to…
The 6 ways Trump tried to control the economy last week
In just the past week, President Donald Trump has ordered defense companies to halt dividends and stock buybacks, and limited executive compensation to $5 million a year; ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion…
2026 could be the year of the starter home
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. State legislatures across the country are starting to convene. As they do, it's becoming clear that 2026 will be another very active year for supply-side…
Trump targets Wall Street housing investors. The data say he’s wrong
In the latest development in horseshoe theory, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration would ban large institutional investors from owning single-family homes. "People live in homes, not…
Barring Institutional Investors From Buying Homes Won’t Make Housing More Affordable
Andrii Yalanskyi/Dreamstime.com Donald Trump announced today he plans to ban the purchase of single-family homes by large institutional investors. As with many Trump actions, this is not something the president actually has…
Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London
Susette Kelo's famous "little pink house," which became a nationally known symbol of the case that bears her name. (Institute for Justice.) This year saw the twentieth anniversary of Kelo v. City of New…
Massachusetts faces 2026 ballot push for statewide rent control
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week's newsletter takes a look at the bad idea in housing policy that never seems to die: rent control. In Massachusetts, housing activists, with the…
What is Zohran Mamdani’s affordable housing plan?
In the February/March 2026 issue of Reason, we explore Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's policy goals and what they mean for New York City. Click here to read the other entries. A few weeks before the New York Democrats'…
Brickbat: Cool Down
The New York City Council has passed a bill that would require landlords to provide air conditioning or cooling systems in tenants' apartments upon request at no charge. The bill, which still requires the mayor's…
Would Star Trek’s transporter destroy cities or save them?
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. Given the holiday slowdown in the news and general merriment that comes with the Christmas season, I'm hoping readers might indulge me in writing this…
TRENDING
