Housing supply and affordability: Evidence from rents, housing consumption and household location

Raven Molloy, Charles G. Nathanson and Andrew Paciorek

Journal of Urban Economics, 2022, vol. 129, issue C

Abstract: We examine the effects of housing supply constraints on housing affordability, which we measure directly using quality-adjusted rent as well as indirectly using structure sizes, lot sizes and household location choices. Empirically, we find that housing supply constraints have only modest effects on rents and housing consumption despite their larger effects on city growth and the price to purchase homes. Calibration of a dynamic, spatial equilibrium model shows that supply constraints increase price-rent ratios because investors expect future rents to increase more with expected demand growth. Because rent is what matters for affordability, supply constraints have reduced affordability less than is commonly understood despite their sizable effects on the purchase prices of homes.

Keywords: Housing supply; Affordability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R2 R3 R5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:129:y:2022:i:c:s0094119022000043

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2022.103427

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