1381: The Housing Crisis | Skeptical Sunday

The housing crisis is real, but the villain isn't the one you think. Nick Pell nails down the real culprits here on Skeptical Sunday!
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell (phoenixnewtimes.com/author/nicholas-pell)!
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1381
On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:
• The villain behind the housing affordability crisis isn't BlackRock. The scare stat that private equity owns 20% of single-family homes? The Urban Institute — a left-leaning shop — clocks it under 4%. Even grandpa renting out a condo counts as an "investor." Aim your outrage at the right enemy.
• Before a single plank of wood gets nailed, regulations bake about 24% into a new home's price — roughly $94,000 nationally, north of $150K in California. It's effectively illegal to build a genuinely cheap house, and almost nobody is protesting that.
• Golden handcuffs froze the market: why trade a 3% mortgage for a 6% one? Owners now sit tight a record 11 years, the listings that exist cluster between $750K and $1 million, and the starter home you could actually afford never reaches the market.
• The other culprit is your neighbor Greg, who treats vinyl siding as a war crime. Mandated gables, brick on all four sides, half-acre lots, mature trees — pure aesthetics, zero safety — heap tens of thousands onto every build and quietly outlaw the starter home.
• The empowering truth is that scarcity is a policy choice, so it's reversible — and the decisive fights are local. Show up to the city-council meetings you've been skipping. And credit is more fixable than you'd guess — Nick raised his 120 points in a year just paying down debt.
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter (twitter.com/JordanHarbinger), Instagram (instagram.com/jordanharbinger), and YouTube (youtube.com/c/THEJORDANHARBINGERSHOW). If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here (itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1344999619?mt=2&…) — even one sentence helps!
• Sign up for Six-Minute Networking (jordanharbinger.com/course) — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
• Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser (jordanharbinger.com/news) newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
• Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger (reddit.com/r/JordanHarbinger)!
This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors (jordanharbinger.com/deals):
• SimpliSafe Home Security: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordan (simplisafe.com/jordan)
• Quince: Free shipping & 365-day returns: quince.com/jordan (quince.com/jordan)
• AG1: Welcome kit: drinkag1.com/jordan (drinkag1.com/jordan)
See Privacy Policy at art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.