Episode Summary

In this episode, we sat down with Kevin Erdmann, the author of "Shut Out" and "Building from the Ground Up” for an extensive conversation on US housing, starting in the early 2000’s through today. 

His research points to inadequate housing supply in key large cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, driving the 2008 housing crisis rather than oversupply in “destination” cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. 

Misdiagnosing the problem led to a severe underbuilding following the crisis, as tight credit conditions effectively prevented new entry-level housing from being built just as the millennial generation was entering the prime home buying age. Covid, then, led to further dislocations especially in smaller markets. We ended the conversation with some policy recommendations. 

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Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name: Kevin Erdmann

💡 What he does: Kevin Erdmann is the author of "Shut Out" and "Building from the Ground Up."

💡 Company: Independent Housing Researcher

💡 Noteworthy: Kevin Erdmann is a former small businessman and a researcher in housing, monetary policy, and financial markets. In 2015, Erdmann began to reconsider a range of evidence contradicting commonly held beliefs about the pre-2007 American housing boom. His first book "Shut Out" was published with the support of The Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he continued to develop a revolutionary new approach to the practical roles of housing, debt, and money in recent American economic trends.

💡 Where to find Kevin: Website l Twitter