Even if Non-Profit Units Cost $50K, It Would Still Make More Sense to Give Away Cash

Well, here I am again with criticism of the Mayor’s proposed supplement to existing voucher programs. The idea, giving vouchers to people struggling with rent in Seattle, is not a bad idea. But as I had suspected, it’s not a simple distribution of cash for rent. In fact, I’m not sure exactly how it will […]

Seattle’s New Bike Parking Requirements Show How Regulation Kills Housing

I’m often greeted with some skepticism when I make the point that regulation is making housing prices worse. Some people just don’t believe it, instead blaming greed or Amazon. Others dismiss what I’m saying as libertarianism; we shouldn’t have any rules! But David Neiman, an architect and an expert at explaining how bad rules and […]

Seattle Times Shocker: Supply and Demand Exists!

Here is the headline from a Seattle Times story last week: Seattle Area Rents Drop Significantly…. Wait. Is this the real Seattle Times? The one that consistently heralds the latest increase in average rents as “skyrocketing?” At first I thought this was clever satire. Had the Seattle Times hired deconstructionist performance artist Charles Mudede to […]