Source: The Atlantic

Date Published: 6.30.2025

Link: The Whole Country Is Starting to Look Like California – The Atlantic 

Article Summary: Once widely believed to be the realm of easy development and naturally occurring affordable housing, Sun Belt cities like Phoenix, Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas are now experiencing sharper home price increases than ultra-progressive coastal cities—some exceeding 130% over the past decade—as housing production fails to keep pace with demand. This contradicts the belief that blue-state regulations uniquely cause affordability crises, revealing that red and purple states increasingly face similar antidevelopment forces, such as outdated zoning laws, rising NIMBYism, and procedural obstacles like Texas’s “tyrant’s veto.” “San Francisco and New York’s anti-development forces weren’t unique—they were just early.” Additionally, while the Sun Belt once offset the housing shortfalls of coastal cities through rapid suburban expansion, that sprawl is now hitting physical and political limits.