Report
The first two reports in this series on the May 2026 Zoning and Land Use Flexibility Survey showed that Americans broadly support starter homes, smaller lots, light-touch density, and homes near jobs when these reforms are described in practical terms. This third report examines why that support weakens among some Americans and identifies two direct barriers to support.
BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 7 Jul 26
Report
This second report’s main finding is that support is broad, but not uniform. The clearest divides are ideology and perceived affordability severity.[2] Option 3 homes near jobs and amenities has the highest support among liberals, moderates, and conservatives. Option 2 small-scale infill in existing single-family neighborhoods is the most politically divided. Option 1 smaller lots in new neighborhoods falls in between. Respondents who see housing affordability as extremely or very serious are also much more supportive of all three reforms, especially with respect to Option 2, where the lift was 12 percentage points, about double the lift for Options 1 and 3. Perceived affordability pressure matters more than objective affordability pressure: people respond most strongly when they recognize affordability as a serious local problem.
BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 1 Jul 26
Op-Ed
America faces a housing and affordability crisis—and the most effective response will come not from Washington but from the states. Local governments have restricted the supply of new homes for decades, while federal “solutions” have been expensive, inflexible and ineffective. States, by contrast, have the incentive and power to solve the problem, and they’ve already begun. More than 30 states are pursuing or enacting starter-home legislation that could create an abundance of naturally affordable homes.
BY Arthur Gailes + Amanda Dial ON 1 Jul 26
Report
American Enterprise Institute
May 2026’s preliminary YoY HPA was 1.4%, the second lowest level of the series, up from 1.2% in April 2026 and down from 2.4% in May 2025.
BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 1 Jul 26
Report
The AEI Housing Center’s May 2026 Zoning and Land Use Flexibility Survey finds that Americans are open to practical housing-supply reforms. The survey tested three core reforms aligned with the Strong Foundations Playbook.
BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 29 Jun 26
Report
National home price appreciation trends for April 2026.
BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto + Sissi Li ON 29 Jun 26
Op-Ed
Barron’s
Congress can’t unfreeze the market by lowering mortgage rates, which have been stuck above 6% since 2022, nor can it meaningfully shrink the six-million-unit housing shortage through the Act’s supply measures. Even if the president decides to sign it into law—a big “if” since he backed out of a signing ceremony on Wednesday—real progress on housing affordability will have to be made at the state level.
BY Arthur Gailes + Edward J. Pinto ON 24 Jun 26
Op-Ed
The Wall Street Journal
Noah Gould’s excellent account of Fishtown’s revival rightly emphasizes neighborhood renewal’s human side: “New Fish” arriving, “Old Fish” staying, and a once-struggling working-class neighborhood finding new life. But the larger lesson lies in how Fishtown made a comeback: not through a master plan or top-down government program but by making private investment feasible.
BY Tobias Peter ON 15 Jun 26
Op-Ed
Greater Greater Washington
But there is a better option than raising taxes: Grow the tax base by legalizing the starter homes Montgomery County keeps blocking.
BY Arthur Gailes ON 2 Jun 26
Report
American Enterprise Institute
April 2026’s preliminary YoY HPA was 0.8% the lowest level of the series, down from 1.5% in March 2025 and 2.8% in April 2025.
BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 2 Jun 26
Report
American Enterprise Institute
The median and average age for first-time buyers obtaining mortgage loans in Quarter 1:26 (33 and 36.2 years) was down 1 year and 0.6 year respectively from Quarter 1:25 (34 and 36.8 years). There has been a modest decline since 2000 when the median and average ages for first-time buyers stood at 35 and 37.9 years respectively.
BY Edward J. Pinto + Joseph S. Tracy + Donghoon Lee ON 2 Jun 26
Report
2026: the year of “Starter Homes” and “Small Lot, Small Lot, Small Lot.” To date during the 2026 state legislative year: Total projected extra homes for enacted, passed, or pending bills having alignment with the…
BY Edward J. Pinto ON 2 Jun 26
Press
AEI Housing Center Codirector Tobias Peter discusses institutional investors in the housing market on C-SPAN’s ‘Washington Journal.’
BY Tobias Peter ON 2 Jun 26
Report
This study presents evidence that in many markets policy-induced costs and local feasibility barriers act as the primary constraint on new housing production and are more binding than capital availability alone, regardless of whether financial conditions are tighter or looser.
BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 28 May 26
Report
This report tracks trends for GSE appraisal waivers monthly and provides data on the risk characteristics of these loans. To download the most recent data, please click here. To read our comment letter to FHFA…
BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 27 May 26
