How Argentina Cut Home Costs 70%
New York’s Zohan Mamdani and fellow “Democratic Socialists” are racking up the wins on house prices, one of the most painful parts of the affordability crisis.
Of course, they’re peddling ideas that will make it worse -- rent control, eviction bans, landlord jihads that cut off new construction and existing properties, strangling supply and hiking price.
But there is a country that slashed housing costs by 70%: Argentina.
Where right-populist Javier Milei cleared a decades-long housing shortage while cutting costs by two-thirds in just 2 years.
Buenos Aires’ Housing Crisis
When Milei came to office in 2024, monthly rent as a percent of income was 90% in Buenos Aires. Just 2 years later, that’s under 30%.
Shockingly, he did the exact opposite of the Democratic Socialists: He eliminated rent control, simplified contracts and protected landlords from tenant abuse. Something that’s alien to Democrat cities who pile on tenant “rights” that enable scammers and chase landlords out.
Milei slashed housing regulations including mandatory 3-year leases with capped rents and landlords were free to offer apartments on any terms, at any price, in whatever currency they like: dollars, gold coins, Bitcoin.
Milei’s deregulation sent rental supply up 170%.
Rental listings tripled.
200,000 vacant units came on market.
Buenos Aires housing went from Hunger Games to It’s a Wonderful Life.
Now compare this to New York, which has 50,000 vacant apartments — as in landlords don’t want to rent them out despite 165,000 families waiting for housing, and a vacancy rate of 1.4%.
It’s not just New York: One recent San Francisco open house had 50 applicants for a rental, with agents collecting applications like college admissions.
In LA it’s normal to apply for 10 rentals -- with application fees -- before somebody accepts you, with workers commuting up to 70 miles since they can’t find a room.
Help From Washington
Now, Mamdani’s not going to crack an economics textbook anytime soon, but there is hope for America’s blue cities from Washington.
In an executive order last month Trump cut permit delays, environmental reviews, and streamllined construction rules to get more housing built nationwide.
Congress is currently working on a housing bill that would further cut red tape for building, encourage cities to repeal rent control and reward them for building more housing.
Alas, there’s only so much Washington can do; most of housing is local, and blue cities are making it worse.
There are moves on the edge: New York could legalize more basement apartments, streamline office conversions since actual jobs are leaving the city, and build on small vacant lots. San Fran is allowing taller buildings.
But these are wiped out by new mandates -- New York wants to triple rent control to one third of all housing, along with a bizarre mandate that all property sales have to be offered to a non-profit with 6-month right of first refusal.
LA rent control now hits 3 quarters of apartments.
Left-wing St Paul Minnesota recently imposed new rent control which crashed building permits by 80%.
What’s Next
Democrats are using housing affordability to win elections with policies that make it worse. To, ironically, win more elections.
They could copy Milei and fix it within a year. Unfortunately, their voters don’t understand this. And their donors and NGOs don’t want to understand it.
So expect more pain — and more Socialist wins — in blue cities and states.
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