Real Estate
The Moon May Soon Face an American Frontier-Era Land Rush
Private firms like SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace, along with a growing number of national space agencies, are eyeing a manned return to the moon, with an emphasis on settlement rather than exploration.
Can Cities Build Their Way to Housing Equity? A New Book Suggests Not.
Sam Stein's Capital City offers a blistering and persuasive critique of how real estate dominates city planning—to the detriment of most residents.
Big Real Estate Peddles the Myth That New York Rent Control Mainly Targets Small Landlords
Previously unreleased data shows private equity's stranglehold over New York City housing, and its practice of wide-scale eviction.
How Amazon HQ2 Is Already Affecting Housing Prices
Some real estate speculators are already putting bets on the fact that housing prices in the winning city will inflate fast.
Why Some Home Prices Rebound Quickly After a Forest Fire
A ruined view following a wildfire affects property values, but only because it's a painful reminder of risk, economists find.
If Americans Keep Ignoring Flood Risk, We Could Face a Housing-Market Crash
On the coastlines of America, many home buyers are ignoring the new realities of storms and floods—and, in too many cases, the government isn't helping.
Pot Warehouses in Denver Are Booming—at the Detriment of Low-Income Neighborhoods
Soaring commercial real estate prices are a sign of a thriving pot industry in Denver—but low-income communities of color are taking a disproportionate property-tax hit.
Can Legislation Lower California's Exorbitant Real Estate Prices?
Through shifting control of land use policy from local to regional governments, SB 827 wants to reduce the Golden State's cost of housing.
Inside the Ecologically Damaging Practice of Illegal Sand Mining
As real estate building increases across the world, so too does the illegal extract of sand, which results in serious environmental impacts.
America Is Experiencing a Front Porch Resurgence
People around the U.S. are rediscovering their fondness for a classic architectural staple.
Have Recreational Vehicles Killed the American Dream?
In her new book, journalist Jessica Bruder argues that, in post-2008 America, the nostalgic vision of RVs and other "wheel estate" is incomplete.
Baltimore Tenants File a Class Action Against a Jared Kushner-Owned Property Management Firm
Tenants allege that a property management firm controlled by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's real-estate company has unjustly charged them fees and threatened eviction to make them pay up.
Trump Transferred Wealth to His Son Eric, Avoiding the Accompanying Taxes
These transactions illustrate the unique advantages that real estate developers like Trump have when passing down valuable assets between generations.
For Some New York Landlords, It's Legal to Take Tax Breaks and Then Raise Rents Without Limit
The protections stem from when Rudy Giuliani, together with the real-estate industry, maneuvered behind the scenes in 1995 to exempt downtown Manhattan apartments from rent stabilization rules.
Why the Future of Work Is at Home
Even a cursory look at the social, environmental, and economic impacts of working from home indicates that even more people could and should be.
How Defining a Metropolitan Statistical Area Promotes Poverty
A metro only exists for those who can afford to commute.
When Generation Rent Becomes Generation Buy
Regions where Millennials are renting don't look like where they will buy homes.
Why Top Talent Must Flee Silicon Valley
In order for tech workers to cash out on home equity, Proposition 13 forces them to move to another state.
How AirBnB Threatens Urban Creative Space
The end result of an AirBnB'd neighborhood is not a profitable artist collective; it's an international bedroom community of "post-tourist" upwardly mobile workers.
The New Geography of Jobs: Talent Production Versus Knowledge Production
Pittsburgh is the best place in the United States to flip property. What explains the real estate boom?
In Defense of Rent Control
Rent control has long been criticized by economists, but the list of theoretical harms often aren't observable in reality. With a lack of serious public housing funding, the policy may be one of the best, and cheapest, ways to protect low-income families.
A New Theory on San Francisco's Inequality Problem
A graduate student is giving French economist Thomas Piketty a run for his money while re-imagining the worst culprit of inequality.
University as Real Estate Developer
Property value displaces tuition as a revenue stream for higher education.
One of the Biggest Banks in the Country Is Being Sued for Racial Discrimination
An unusual lawsuit against M&T Bank draws on secret videotapes and recordings to argue that the bank’s loan officers discriminated against blacks, Latinos, and Asians who applied for mortgages.