Airbnb and other home sharing platforms are contributing to the affordability crisis in Los Angeles—but only nominally. New research from UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate analyzes the potential link between the affordability crisis and home sharing platforms, and found that a 10% increase in Airbnb listings equates to a .04% increase in rental rates. Home sharing also has an increase on home prices. When the stock of Airbnb rooms increases 10% it leads to a .73% increase in housing prices. In markets like Los Angeles, where the rental supply is already limited and a greater number of people participate in home sharing, the results are more dramatic, according to the report, although specific figures were mot published. To find out more about the research and the link between home sharing and affordability, we sat down with one of the report's authors, Edward Kung, an associate professor of economics at UCLA, for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: What was the impetus for this research on the relationship between Airbnb and affordability?

Edward Kung: There has been a lot of policy debate about how best to regulate Airbnb, and part of that is driven by concern over how home sharing might impact affordability for local residents. Not much empirical work had been done on this question, and we wanted to take a look at it.