Why is Housing so Expensive?

Welcome back to Notes from the Front -

This episode is for anyone who’s wondering why housing costs so much.

I sat down with Judge Glock, Director of Research at the Manhattan Institute, to discuss policies driving the crisis: zoning, rent control, ghost apartments, and what New York’s new rent freeze is likely to do.

It’s one of the clearest conversations I’ve had. Hope you enjoy!

~ Michelle

---

🔗 Links: Spotify | Apple | YouTube

📍 Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction

• 01:00 The #1 barrier to housing: zoning

• 05:30 Why cities welcome data centers but fight housing

• 08:00 Environmental regulations and the sprawl problem

• 12:00 Rent control: what economists actually agree on

• 18:00 The difference between rent control and rent stabilization

• 24:00 The 1970s Bronx fires — what really happened

• 32:00 New York’s new mayor and the rent freeze

• 38:00 The case against public housing

• 46:00 Ghost apartments and landlord bankruptcies

• 56:00 Who gets hurt most by rent control

• 1:06:00 The case for renting over owning

• 1:10:00 Judge’s 3-point plan if he were Mayor of NYC

• 1:17:00 Housing as a national political issue

📚 Books:

• The Fires: How a Computer Formula, Big Ideas, and the Best of Intentions Burned Down New York City by Joe Flood – http://bit.ly/48wSHc7

• Public Housing That Worked by Nicholas Dagen Bloom — https://bit.ly/47FvWma

📰 Judge’s Articles:

• “Two Cheers for Zoning” — https://bit.ly/4tnEVk6

• Is There a Dumber Housing Policy Than Rent Control? — https://bit.ly/4viNoXQ

• Laws Protecting Renters Hurt Renters — https://bit.ly/4sTVJzh

• The Asian-American Landlord Movement — https://bit.ly/3On2D12

📍 Find Judge Glock: https://manhattan.institute/person/judge-glock

📧 Contact Michelle: michelle@notesfromthefront.com