E51: How We Build More Housing with Brad Hargreaves & Noah Smith

In this special roundtable episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Brad Hargreaves (the founder of Common, co-founder of General Assembly, and writer of Thesis Driven) and Noah Smith (podcast host, economist and writer of Noahpinion). They discuss the future of real estate and housing in America, the impact of regulations, and the potential of new cities.

📖 RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Econ 102 is Noah and Erik's podcast diving into the news, business, culture and society from the lens of economics. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/econ-102-with-noah-smith-and-erik-torenberg/id1696419056

Thesis Driven is a podcast hosted by Brad Hargreaves features conversations with the leading voices at the intersection of real estate, cities, innovation, and the built world. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thesis-driven-leader-series/id1724813949

**These shows are produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].

_

SPONSOR: BEEHIIV | BRAVE | SQUAD

Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝to https://Beehiiv.com and use code "UPSTREAM" for 20% off your first three months.

Get first-party targeting with Brave’s private ad platform: cookieless and future proof ad formats for all your business needs. Performance meets privacy. Head to https://brave.com/brave-ads/ and mention “MoZ” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign.

💥 Access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to choosesquad.com and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.

–

Links:

Noahpinion’s https://www.noahpinion.blog

Thesis Driven https://www.thesisdriven.com/

–

X / TWITTER:

@bhargreaves (Brad)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@noahpinion (Noah)

@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

–

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Intro

(00:28) Understanding Real Estate Economics

(01:34) Role of Technology in Real Estate

(02:22) 2008 Financial Crisis and Real Estate

(06:31) Role of Banks in Real Estate

(10:14) Future of Real Estate and Housing

(16:01) Sponsor: Brave | Turpentine

(17:44) Impact of Regulations

(24:51) Real Estate Architecture’s Evolution

(29:48) Role of Developers in Real Estate

(40:21) Challenges of Building State Capacity

(51:53) Potential of New Cities

(01:00:33) Success of New Urbanist Towns

(01:01:53) Wrap