Category Archives: Housing and housing finance

The outlook for today’s young adults

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Arnold Kling

Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox write, They have entered an economy where the most rapid job growth for their generation has been in generally low-paying professions, such as leisure/hospitality and healthcare, while jobs in higher-paying fields such as information, finance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance, income distribution-wealth-poverty | 19 Comments

Affordable Housing is a Supply Problem

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Arnold Kling

Ed Glaeser writes, If demand alone drove prices, then we should expect to see places that have high costs also have high levels of construction. The reverse is true. Places that are expensive don’t build a lot and places that … Continue reading →

Posted in energy and the environment, Housing and housing finance, Tyler Cowen is my Favorite Blogger | 8 Comments

House price-to-income ratios across cities

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Arnold Kling

I find this sort of data fascinating. In Detroit, median house price is $38K and median household income is $26K, for a ratio of roughly 1.5 In San Francisco, with a median house price of $1.1 million and median household … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance | 12 Comments

Financial Policy if I were in charge

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Arnold Kling

This afternoon, I am supposed to participate in a discussion of financial regulatory policy. There are so many participants, including big shots like John Taylor and John Cochrane, that I may end up not saying anything. I probably will just … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Crises, financial markets, Housing and housing finance | 32 Comments

The Source of Systemic Financial Risk

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Arnold Kling

Charles Calomiris says that it is the political system. There are two important systemic threats to financial stability: government policies that subsidize mortgage risk, and government policies that insure bank debts (and, more generally, that subsidize bank default risk through … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Crisis of 2008, Housing and housing finance | 8 Comments

Restrict Supply, Subsidize Demand

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Arnold Kling

The Los Angeles Times reports, Home builders are not keeping up with demand for homes in California. There just aren’t enough homes being built relative to the growing number of households in California. What is the “solution” to this supply … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance, public choice | 9 Comments

The State of the Housing Market

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Arnold Kling

Scott Sumner writes, It looks like the supply side is being hit by a triple whammy of adverse supply shocks These are problems with funding, land and labor supply. I think that the problem boils down to land in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance, Scott Sumner is Coherent | 35 Comments

A Good Start on Mortgage Finance

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Arnold Kling

According to this story, The Department of Housing and Urban Development said Friday that the reduction to the annual mortgage insurance premiums borrowers pay when taking out government-backed home loans has been “suspended indefinitely.” …Borrowers with larger home loans would … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance | 4 Comments

Freddie, Fannie, and so-called Privatization

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Arnold Kling

The WaPo reports, Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department, said Wednesday that privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “right up there on the top-10 list of things we’re going to get done,” setting off … Continue reading →

Posted in financial markets, Housing and housing finance | 6 Comments

California’s Housing Shortage

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Arnold Kling

Mckinsey folks estimate it at 2 million. Pointer from Alex Tabarrok. The market clears, of course, but at a price point that is very high relative to income. Presumably, this is a supply problem. You do not cure a supply … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing and housing finance | 8 Comments