Executive Summary
- Restrictive state and local land-use regulations are a key factor in escalating housing prices.
- These escalating prices have contributed to high rates of foreclosure that are concentrated in regions with restrictive land-use regulations.
- The implementation of “smart growth” strategies in many communities has contributed to restrictive land regulations.
- Areas with less land-use regulation consistently sustain affordable housing prices, while regions with greater regulation consistently sustain prices that are unaffordable to the majority of those living in the region.
- Such land-use regulations are not unique to the United States; other countries, where housing prices have soared even higher, have recognized their harm and are now attempting to reform them.
- Future federal housing-assistance programs should be linked to a requirement to lessen the burden of these regulations.
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Reprinted with the permission of The Heritage Foundation.
