Journal of Economic Perspectives
How Regional Inequality and Migration Drive Housing Prices and Rents
2025-08-14
We argue that rising regional inequality contributes to higher average housing prices and rents. We show three key empirical facts that contribute to this mechanism: first, income growth has been faster in already high-income cities; second, people are drawn to these cities by the income growth, raising relative housing demand and relative housing prices and rents; and third, housing supply in these cities is inelastic due to density and regulation, so these cities have not produced the housing to match the rising demand. We illustrate the resulting changes using a graphical spatial model in which rising regional inequality reallocates population toward high-income, supply-constrained areas. This shift raises national average housing prices and rents.