One long-forgotten housing option is residential hotels; a century ago, most renters lived in hotels and shared space with short-term tenants. I just read a book, Living Downtown, about the rise and fall of residential hotels. Rather than discuss them in detail I refer you to my amazon.com … [Read more...]
Airbnb Crowding Out Is A Symptom, Not A Cause Of Housing Shortages
When journalists, NIMBYs, politicians, and activists make claims about Airbnb taking potential full-time housing stock and converting it to leisure space, they operate under the assumption that the housing supply must be fixed. This assumption is half true: By no means must the housing … [Read more...]
Home-Sharing and Housing Supply
One common argument against Airbnb and other home-sharing companies is that they reduce housing supply by taking housing units off the long-term market.* As I have written elsewhere, I don't think home-sharing affects housing supply enough to matter. But even leaving aside the empirical question of … [Read more...]
Does Home-sharing Create Negative Externalities?
A decade or two ago, a traveler who wished to stay in a city temporarily had no alternative to a hotel. Even if the owner of a house or condominium wished to rent out a room for a short period of time, the costs of advertising in a newspaper would have at least partially canceled out the … [Read more...]
To Know Home-Sharing Is To Support It
If you read elite commentary on the home-sharing industry (that is, Airbnb and its competitors), especially on the Left, you might think it is quite controversial. However, a recent Pew survey suggests otherwise.According to Pew, very few people know very much about home-sharing. Only 11 … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings March 18, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbanism: Nolan Gray's latest post, Liberate the Garage!: Autonomous Cars and the American DreamAt present, zoning laws effectively prohibit entrepreneurs from using their garages for business. In many Americans cities, hiring employees, hosting visitors, putting up … [Read more...]