[JaimeThompson]

Then why are rents going up drastically all over texas, even in small towns where damn near anything can be built?

[NovemberWhiskey]

Never mind the small towns. Houston has no zoning laws at all, yet:

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/housing/2023/07/...

[kilotaras]

IIRC Houston does not have zoning in direct sense of the word, but has a set of regulations and restrictions (e.g. on height, setbacks, parking minimums, lot sizes, etc.) that still drastically limits options for buildings.

[HDThoreaun]

Houston has covenants which basically pick up the role of zoning laws. Famously they have massive parking minimums which prevents densifying.

[gedy]

Some/much of this may be just inflation and the devaluing of the dollar.

[cscurmudgeon]

Sigh, it is always supply and demand. If demand is higher than supply, prices rise.

It is a universal law of economics that people pretend doesn't apply to housing.

In these towns, do you have evidence demand is stable and yet prices rise?

https://scott-wiener.medium.com/yes-supply-demand-apply-to-h...

[JaimeThompson]

Adam Smith would disagree.

[cscurmudgeon]

Thanks for posting relevant data. I have changed my stance entirely.

[JaimeThompson]

I would expect that someone discussing this topic would be familiar with the various things Adam Smith and others have said about collusion to increase prices and related topics.