BOSTON, MA – December 15, 2025 – The Wall Street Journal reported this week that St. Paul, Minnesota, has experienced a sharp decline in apartment construction and property values following the implementation of rent control ordinances. Meanwhile, neighboring Minneapolis has avoided rent control, instead focusing on meaningful updates such as land use revisions, and has since seen a significant increase in apartment permitting activity.
From The Wall Street Journal article:
In 2022, St. Paul enacted one of the strictest rent-control regimes in the country…Across the Mississippi River, Minneapolis steered clear of rent control…
Permits to build apartments in St. Paul plummeted by 79% in early 2022 from the year before, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Real-estate investment activity nearly froze. Developers halted new projects as lenders pulled back…
St. Paul officials are now walking back parts of the ordinance… Kaohly Her, the mayor-elect and herself a landlord, campaigned on re-evaluating the rent-control policy further. “The math just doesn’t work,” she said…
… In Minneapolis, meanwhile, developers kept building. Housing permits surged nearly fourfold in early 2022 from the year before. Downtown hubs blossomed as new apartments hit the market and attracted young professionals…
The sprawling Highland Bridge development east of the river was one of the first properties to feel the sting of St. Paul’s rent control…The stalled Highland Bridge apartments are now moving forward after St. Paul amended the ordinance this spring. Still, the developers say the market-rate apartments are now at least four years behind schedule. They plan to build about 700 fewer units…
… Alisa Lein, a property manager who lives in St. Paul, used to keep most annual rent increases well below 3%. She raised the price when the apartment turned over. But St. Paul’s ordinance outlawed that practice. Now, she raises rents by the 3% maximum every year…
… Since 2022, CBRE found that only two deals have closed in St. Paul for apartment buildings with 100 or more units, compared with dozens in Minneapolis. Property values in St. Paul fell at least 6% because of rent control, a National Bureau of Economic Research study found in 2022.
St. Paul and Minneapolis provide a clear contrast that demonstrates the impacts of rent control policies. While Minneapolis has pursued strategies that encourage development, expand housing supply, and support long-term affordability, St. Paul’s rent control policies have coincided with reduced construction activity, stalled investment, and declining property values, illustrating how strict rent control policies can discourage new investment and be disastrous for a city’s housing goals.
To address the current housing crisis in Massachusetts, the state must adopt policies that support investment in new development – like those in Minneapolis – to expand housing supply, attract new residents, and strengthen local economies. St. Paul underscores the risks of rent control and highlights the importance of policies that encourage, rather than discourage, new housing development.
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Contact
Conor Yunits
Chair, Housing for Massachusetts
(857) 276-8479