President Biden’s border collapse led to a significant rise in house prices and rents, according to a new working paper from the Federal Reserve.
The paper, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, uses immigration court records and administrative data to show how the unprecedented influx of illegals into the US affected labor and housing markets.
The New York Post explains, “Researchers found the influx of illegal immigrants boosted employment with little measurable effect on wages but significantly increased housing demand.
“A 1% increase in unauthorized workers relative to a local labor force corresponded with roughly a 1% increase in overall employment, with no evidence the immigration surge reduced average wages. The same 1% increase, however, was associated with a roughly 2.2% rise in home prices and a 1.4% increase in rents. Researchers found little evidence that homebuilding expanded enough to meet the added demand, concluding the influx acted as a housing demand shock in markets where supply was already constrained.
“The economists estimate unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30% of employment growth, roughly 30% of home-price growth, and about 20% of rent growth in the average metropolitan area between March 2021 and March 2024.”
The authors of the paper, citing estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, said net illegal immigration added roughly 7 million people to the US population between 2021 and 2024.
