Is Apartment-phobia Driving America’s Housing Crisis?

Average rents have spiked 18 percent in the past five years due to rising population and increasing demand, while supply isn’t keeping up. The worst gap is in high-productivity centers, which are suffering economically because higher housing costs outweigh any increase in income. Not only will building more housing help homelessness and inequality, but it’ll also boost wages and economic growth. Yet Americans—and other English-speaking nations like Australia, Canada and New Zealand—have staunchly resisted building more high-rise multifamily housing, even though demand is growing. This is because local zoning gives too much weight to homeowners over renters. National zoning laws, like those in Japan, would remove impediments to the housing supply.

Source: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/03/is-apartment-phobia-driving-americas-housing-crisis.html