Homesick: Why Housing Is Unaffordable and How We Can Change It

Housing is expensive because of Airbnb, snowbirds, and the profit motive, according to geographer O’Brien’s impassioned but underwhelming debut. Investigating the high cost of rent and home-buying in three cities—Flagstaff, Ariz., where he lives; St. George, Utah; and Bozeman, Mont., O’Brien argues that by converting housing into short-term rentals, Airbnb and its competitors shrink the supply of houses for sale or long-term rental and thus drive up their price. (Vacation homes that stand unoccupied most of the time also fuel this problem, he contends.) O’Brien also points a finger at the swelling numbers of remote workers leaving Silicon Valley and Wall Street to bid up home prices in scenic towns; developers and municipal officials who cater to well-heeled tourists and newcomers while locals get priced out of their hometowns; and a society that views housing as “a real-estate investment, not a human right.” He links it all to the country’s history of white supremacist property and housing law, including European settlers’ conquest of Native American lands, 20th-century redlining, and present-day homeowners’ associations that disadvantage nonwhite home buyers by raising property values. Meanwhile, he only lightly touches on zoning rules, red tape for permits, and other regulatory burdens that hinder the construction of inexpensive housing. The result is a book that falls squarely on the antigentrification side of the polarizing housing debate. It’s a familiar take on a hot-button issue that clearly articulates its case, but might not change any minds. (Sept.)