No surprise here: government action has consequences. In this case, people are being priced out of the housing market. Forbes reports on the least affordable U.S. real estate markets in its July 23 issue. Some of the numbers are astounding: “For example, in the first quarter of 2001, 42.3% of homes sold in Los Angeles were available to the median earning household. But in the first […]
Land use
A Win for Property Owners and the Constitution
On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned its 1981 Poletown decision. So what does that mean? Plenty. It means that some sanity has been restored to legal doctrine and economic development practices. Under the principle of eminent domain, government is able to seize private property (and give some compensation to the owner) if it is for the public good. Traditionally that has meant roads or […]
Sprawl, Sprawl, Sprawl, Sprawl
The U.S. Census Bureau is out with a new release on the nation’s shifting demographics. If you’ve read much about demographics, you’ll not be surprised to learn that the top five growing cities during the time 2000-2002 were in Arizona and Nevada. The Bureau also notes that Joliet, Ill., is the 10th-fastest growing incorporated area, growing at a clip of 11.4 percent. This provides the suburban […]