Local Housing Knowledge and Housing Policy Preferences

• In Event: The Policy and Politics of Housing Supply

Abstract

Opposition to new housing construction in high-demand cities is said to be motivated by “homevoting” or the desire by local homeowners to block new supply in constrained markets in order to maintain the price of their homes. However, recent research has raised questions about just how well the public understands housing markets—calling into question the strategic motivations of these so-called “homevoters.” How well do Americans understand their local housing markets and how do these beliefs correlate with their housing policy preferences? In a pre-registered survey experiment, we ask Americans basic questions about prices in their local housing markets and provide information treatments about local prices and homebuilding levels. We examine whether incorrect beliefs correlate with more pro-supply (YIMBY) or anti-supply (NIMBY) policies and whether correcting these beliefs can also shift respondents’ preferences on various housing policy issues.

Author

• Stan Nguyen Oklobdzija, University of California, Riverside
  Presenting Author