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numbers and the increasing share of rent controlled units (note the big jump in <br />1993 by any measure in the share of rent controlled units in Table 1 and in the <br />growth rates of the amount of rent controlled units in Table 2); and (b) the change <br />in the legal environment as a consequence of the Yee v. City of Escondido <br />decision-13 The decision can be seen as a "green light" for cities to step up mobile <br />home rent control adoption and/or enforcement. <br />Simulated Economic Impact of Rent Control Policy <br />The economic impact of the rent control presented by the regression results <br />reported in Tables 6a through c may be more intuitive if re -crafted in the form of <br />controlled experiments or simulations where the impact of rent control on various <br />types of mobile homes is examined. Figures 3a through 3c present the results of a <br />series of such simulations. In each case, the bar charts show the impact of rent <br />control relative to `no' rent control under ceteris paribus conditions. For example, <br />Figure 3a shows that for the average mobile home after 1993, flexible rent control <br />would decrease the value of a coach by about $148, or about 1.0 percent <br />($17623=$17771=0.99), while rigid rent control would increase the value of a <br />coach by about $1142, or about 6 percent ($18913 ' $17771=1.06). <br />Figure 3b shows that for the average mobile home after 1993, a rigid rent control <br />regime increases the value of a coach for both low-income and high -income <br />households: the former by about $1,098, or seven percent and the latter by about <br />$1,141, or five percent. Flexible rent control regimes result in marginally lower <br />prices. <br />Figure 3c shows that for the average mobile home after 1993, a rigid rent control <br />regime increases the value of a coach in census tracts with younger households as <br />well as in census tracts with older households. The former by about $1,333, or <br />eight percent and the latter by about $851, or four percent. Flexible rent control <br />regimes result in marginally higher prices in census tracts comprised of older <br />households and marginally lower prices in census tracts comprised of younger <br />households. <br />13 We initially attributed some of the post 1993 change to improved economic expectations in California associated <br />with the jobs and housing recovery. We thought that the expected rent savings might take on more value with the <br />economic recovery as alternative housing increased in price. However, according to OFHEO's California Housing <br />Price Index, positive nominal increases in statewide housing prices were not seen until 1995:4 and 1996:1. Those <br />two positive quarters were followed by four quarters of declines in nominal prices followed in 1997:2 with a <br />quarterly increase in nominal housing prices which began the recovery which has been sustained through the <br />present. See www.ofheo.gov /HPIState.asp7FormMode=Process. <br />