Kristóf Gyódi, Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw

Kristóf Gyódi is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Warsaw, Head of the Digital Cities Transformation Workshop, Visiting Researcher at Boston University and the University of Glasgow. Scholar of the National Agency for Academic Exchange and the Glasgow-Warsaw Dekaban Liddle Foundation. His research interests include urban issues related to digitalization, the impact of short-term rentals on city development, platform economics, and the use of data-science methods.

Title of the paper: The Impact of Short-Term Rental Regulations on the U.S. Housing Market

Abstract: This study examines the effects of short-term rental (STR) regulations on home values and rents in U.S. cities. The STR market—driven by the rise of platforms such as Airbnb—expanded rapidly throughout the 2010s, especially in major cities, reducing housing availability and affecting neighborhood dynamics. In response, many U.S. cities implemented stringent STR restrictions prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver), while others introduced regulations more recently (e.g., Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis) or maintained a relatively relaxed regulatory environment (e.g., Indianapolis, Tucson). Regulatory efforts have typically aimed to preserve housing availability for local residents and to protect affordability. While existing empirical research has shown that enforced STR regulations reduce STR supply, less is known about the broader impacts on the housing market. This work seeks to fill that gap by identifying the effects of STR regulations on STR supply, home values, and rents. The analysis draws on ZIP code–level data from 2015 to 2023 for 27 U.S. cities. It integrates information on STR supply and performance (AirDNA), socio-economic and housing variables (American Community Survey), and housing market outcomes (Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index). By leveraging variation in the timing of regulations across cities, the study estimates their impact using Two-Way Fixed Effects and Callaway and Sant’Anna’s (2021) doubly robust estimator. To address endogeneity concerns, the analysis also incorporates an instrumental variables approach using a Bartik-like instrument. The results show a strong and statistically significant reduction in STR supply: on average, ZIP codes in regulated cities have 40% fewer listings due to these policies. The impact on the housing market, while more modest, is still significant, with an estimated 5% decrease in home values and rents, with considerable heterogeneity across cities.  The presentation will also include a discussion of findings specific to Boston.

The Fall 2025 CRE Research Seminar Series features distinguished scholars in the real estate finance field and provides a rigorous discussion platform for basic research. Each seminar will feature only one presenter’s current work for one hour, including Q&As. Please refer to the CRE Research Seminar Series page for an updated guest speaker line-up. Seminars are held every other Thursday from 12:00 – 1:00 pm (ET) in 9-450.