YIMBY! Yes, In My Back Yard

“Housing deregulation is the closest thing to a bona fide panacea policy I've ever encountered.”

– Build, Baby, Build

Beginning on January 7, 2025, 16 wildfires broke out across Southern California, leading to 28 deaths, and more than 15,000 lost structures, leaving people unhoused and destitute.  Regardless of the fire's origins, the ensuing losses were certainly made worse by government mismanagement of water supply, forest management, and DEI policies that advanced immutable characteristics over merit.  Adding to the ruination are the existing affordable housing policies that continue to threaten California families with housing scarcity and homelessness.  High housing costs due to scarcity are the result of NIMBY (not in my backyard) policies that strictly regulate land use.

In Bryan Caplan’s 2024 graphic novel, “Build, Baby, Build”, Caplan makes the economic case for housing deregulation.  Government interference in the free market has caused shortages by prohibiting new construction and keeping the quantity of housing low, all while population growth has led to a demand for more housing. Using economic principles to explain how affordable housing policies create scarcity by manipulating the supply, economist Caplan proves how economic illiteracy contributes to poor policy outcomes.  Since there is no free market in housing, builders must get permission to build.  Deregulation will go a long way in reducing housing costs, poverty, homelessness, and other societal ills.    

A multitude of causes have added to the housing crisis.  First, an open border has allowed illegal immigrants to surge into American cities, many with housing vouchers from the federal government, that have resulted in Americans being outbid for their homes.  In Colorado, for example, Venezuelan gangs have taken over whole apartment buildings, leaving American citizens displaced.  

An excess of zoning laws, often full of restrictions limiting supply, determines how land can be used.  The preference for single-family detached homes over multifamily units leads to reduced capacity, keeping many without housing, while limiting the height of buildings blocks denser development and hinders the growth of skyscrapers.  In the rare instances when the government allows construction, contingencies on the land, including parking minimums higher than most builders would require, keep housing scarce and more expensive. 

Over fifteen percent of urban lots in American cities lie vacant, with builders unable to get approval for multifamily construction.  Historical preservation and environmentalism also restrict housing using exclusionary regulations to limit new buildings. 

The main factor in determining housing costs is supply and demand.  When the demand goes up, but the supply is low, you get expensive housing.  But when supplies are high, you end up with many housing options, leading to inexpensive opportunities for a diverse group of people.  With housing costing a full 20 percent of the average budget, affordable housing helps alleviate poverty, incentivizing an increase in family formation, thus allowing more people to realize the American dream of home ownership.  Cheaper housing would also provide for more jobs, allow more mobility for more people, and lessen commute times, all leading to an improved standard of living. 

Government regulations that keep housing scarce naturally lead to many social problems.  People who cannot find housing must live with others, or in worst-case scenarios, find housing on the streets.  When housing is left expensive, movement to better, more convenient neighborhoods is unattainable, leaving many trapped in poorer areas, with longer commute times.  When lots are left unattended, crime increases for the entire neighborhood.  Expensive housing keeps inequality high, as only those with resources have the benefit of options.  And young couples wanting to start families are disincentivized when low-cost, safe homes are out of reach.

To remedy government intervention in housing, all anti-growth policies should be removed immediately, returning housing needs to the markets.  Regenerative policies that allow builders to place multi-housing units on obsolete lots would help increase much-needed supplies.  Since new development is more environmentally beneficial, deregulation is also unintendedly sustainable.  California should go the way of Houston, America’s largest city without zoning restrictions.  Without zoning laws, there would be no land use restrictions, density, or height limits.  City planners and developers would have the flexibility to innovate to meet citizen needs, leading to increased development and growth.

In the 1989 film, Field of Dreams, an Iowa farmer hears a voice telling him, “If you build it, they will come”, suggesting that if he builds a baseball diamond, legends from the past will soon arrive.  Caplan believes the same is true for housing.  That is, allowing builders to respond to demand will provide all the housing necessary to meet those in need.  A pro-housing movement, spearheaded by millennials who are unable to afford the high cost of housing that comes from scarce options, YIMBY “Yes, in my backyard” is the response to NIMBY policies that created the original shortages in housing to begin with.  By increasing the supply, citizens can expect a lowering of housing costs.