Though a lack of affordable housing may not be the sole or even main cause of street homelessness, Mr. Newsom was also right to target increased housing supply as part of the solution. Yet the evidence is mounting that undue regulations are doing tremendous damage to housing markets, and not just in California. Instead of new building permits, communities get housing bubbles, especially at times, such as the present one, when the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates low, in part to stimulate housing demand. These effects, devastating to housing affordability, are not equally distributed throughout the country, according to the study. Democrats such as Mr. Newsom would seem particularly well-positioned to build consensus and lead reforms, which, if successful, would show that freer markets are not necessarily incompatible with a fairer society.

Source: Washington Post February 23, 2020 19:30 UTC