Trail Mix

Hersh
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Arts

Trail Mix is a podcast how things became how they are. Every episode takes something that feels familiar and brings out the forces underneath that brought us here. 

Episodes

  1. Jun 26

    Why Is Housing So Expensive?

    Housing costs have consumed an entire generation. Rents are up, prices are up, and the dream of owning a home feels further away than it ever has.  But why? The answer isn't as simple as greedy landlords or low interest rates. It's a story that goes back decades, with zoning laws written to keep people out, construction costs that never came down, local politics that made building almost impossible, and a financial system that turned homes into investment vehicles instead of places to live. This episode traces how we got here. Trail Mix – Episode 1: Why Is Housing So Expensive? We explore the invisible systems behind America's housing crisis — tracing it from a 1915 skyscraper shadow in Manhattan to the broken market of today. Topics Covered: The Equitable Building (1915) — How a 40-story skyscraper in Lower Manhattan cast a 7-acre shadow and helped trigger the first citywide zoning code in the USThe 1916 NYC Zoning Resolution — The marriage of downtown real estate interests and Fifth Avenue luxury retailers that created building setbacks and use separationHarland Bartholomew — The college dropout who became America's most influential city planner, writing zoning codes for 550 cities that entrenched single-family zoning and, explicitly early on, racial segregationThe 30-Year Fixed Mortgage — How the FHA (1934), post-WWII GI demand, and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac turned every homeowner into a leveraged speculator — and why this product barely exists outside the USThe State of the Market (2024) — Income needed to buy a median home jumped 50% from 2021 to 2024; the average first-time buyer is now 35; 22 million renter households are cost-burdened; the US is short ~4 million homesThe Labyrinth — Why "by right" development has nearly disappeared, how discretionary approval lets NIMBYs block housing, and why future tenants are never in the roomThe Asset-Utility Paradox — The core contradiction: housing cannot simultaneously be affordable shelter and an appreciating investment assetMinneapolis as a Case Study — In 2018, Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning citywide; by 2023, rents stayed flat while the rest of the country spikedKey Takeaway: The housing crisis isn't caused by greed or interest rates alone — it's the result of century-old zoning laws, a uniquely American mortgage product, and a structural incentive for existing homeowners to block new supply.

    Why Is Housing So Expensive?
  • 1 Episode

About

Trail Mix is a podcast how things became how they are. Every episode takes something that feels familiar and brings out the forces underneath that brought us here. 

Information

  • Creator
    Hersh
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Trail Mix
  • Show Website
    Trail Mix