Takeaway: By tracing suburban Chicago’s zoning codes and land subdivision records from 1921 to 1980, researchers demonstrate that local zoning laws played a decisive role in shaping the modern suburb—drastically cutting the supply of apartments and commercial shops while inflating lot sizes decades earlier than previously assumed. Key Points Zoning crowded out mixed uses: Areas developed under zoning dedicated over 80% of their land to detached single-family homes and only 5%

Takeaway: When intensifying climate disasters lead insurers to drop homeowners' policies rather than raise prices, standard mortgage rules can trigger a cascade of "technical defaults," driving up foreclosures, depressing home values, and weakening local economies. Key Points The Insurance-Mortgage Link: Mortgages require hazard insurance. When insurers refuse to renew policies, homeowners who cannot secure expensive replacement coverage risk technical default and foreclosure

Takeaway: Conventional wisdom holds that high housing costs force low-income families into expensive rent payments, but a new study reveals that most rent-burdened households actually have many cheaper vacant apartments available in their immediate local area. Key Points The average low-income household spending more than 30% or 50% of its income on rent could move to a cheaper vacant apartment in the same local area with the same number of bedrooms. Even in high-cost, tight

Takeaway: New mortgage lending drives house prices up by injecting fresh purchasing power into the market, while loan repayments push prices down by destroying money, revealing that bank balance sheets actively steer real estate cycles. Key Points Credit Creation Lifts Prices: A boost in new mortgage originations acts as a temporary injection of fresh purchasing power that creates a lasting upward shift in house prices. Credit Destruction Cools Prices: Paying down mortgage pr

Home prices rose 20.6 percent in March from the same time last year, but will rising interest rates take the punch bowl away from the party?