Lowlights and glimmers of optimism from a new St. Paul housing study

Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis released a new report analyzing St. Paul’s housing trends and outcomes. It comes to the conclusion that the city’s policy landscape is a mixed bag. Attempts to reduce rent increases may have had unintended consequences, dampening new construction, whereas loosening restrictive zoning regulations seems to have helped.

My first reaction: I’m glad someone more accomplished than me is tracking housing trends in St. Paul. Back in 2021, as debate raged over the city’s referendum on strict rent control, it felt like I was the only one cobbling together housing statistics. For mont...