The Issue:
One outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant rise in house prices. Prices rose by 13.5% from March 2020 to March 2021 and by an additional 20.6% from March 2021 to March 2022, as measured by the Case-Shiller U.S. national house price index. This has intensified the focus on the lack of affordable housing in the United States.
While there are numerous factors driving the rise in house prices, the increasing scarcity of housing units has risen to the top. This problem has been building (or not,…