Erdmann Housing Tracker ⢠252 implied HN points ⢠25 Mar 26
- The housing shortage and rules that block new construction, along with tighter mortgage access, have pushed rents way up and suppressed household formation, which hits low-income families hardest.
- Common economic measures get the story backwards: rising rents drive price/rent ratios and displace poorer households, and metro-area averages mask the within-city inequalities that matter most.
- Policy choices ā from lending rules to bans on investor activity and restrictive zoning ā are a major cause of the problem, and building more homes is the practical market solution that would reduce inequality.