Suppose that apartments rent for $1,300 a month in San Francisco, California and $850 a month in Los Angeles, California. If the state of California passes a state-wide rent ceiling for apartments of $1,100 a month, what occurs in the two cities?
What will be an ideal response?
The rent ceiling is below the equilibrium rent in San Francisco. A shortage of apartments occurs as the quantity of apartments demanded increases and the quantity supplied decreases. The shortage becomes even larger as time passes because, with the rent ceiling, landlords have no incentive to maintain existing apartments or to build new ones. A black market for apartments will emerge, with bribery and "key money" becoming common.
In Los Angeles, the outcome differs. The rent ceiling is above the equilibrium rent and has no impact on the quantity demanded or the quantity supplied. If, however, Los Angeles grows so that the demand for housing increases enough, the time may come when the rent ceiling is below the equilibrium rent in Los Angeles, in which case the Los Angeles apartment market also would be marked by a shortage and black market.
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