In Reason magazine's Joel Miller examines the ways the government causes increases in the price of owning a home. He finds that permit delays "of six months can add nearly $7 per square foot to the price of a house.
"Examining 45 metropolitan areas around the country, Glaeser and Gyourko studied the time it takes builders to apply for and receive a permit for a 'modest-sized, single-family subdivision of less than fifty units.' They found that in the areas where zoning is strict and approvals are slow, the price goes up considerably. Permit lags of six months can add nearly $7 per square foot to the price of a house.
That's more than $10,000 added to the cost of a 1,500-square-foot home. Double that for a 12-month lag." Or how about environmental policies? One California developer had to pay mitigation fees of $3.8 million because there were 40 garter snakes on the land -- that's $93,950 per snake and a cost that gets passed along to homebuyers.
"Today's trendy regulations are affordable housing mandates. But as Miller reports, a Reason Foundation study found the Bay Area's attempts to provide affordable housing by requiring developers to sell a percentage of new homes at prices below market value have backfired, triggering significant decreases in new home construction and increasing the price of new homes by $22,000 to $44,000."
FULL STORY: The Politics of Sky-High House Prices
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Placekeeping: Setting a New Precedent for City Planners
How a preservation-based approach to redevelopment and urban design can prevent displacement and honor legacy communities.
San Francisco’s Muni Ridership Grew in 2024
The system saw its highest ridership since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but faces a severe budget shortage in the coming year.
Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding
In the face of potential federal funding cuts, CDOT leaders reasserted their commitment to planned bus rapid transit projects.
Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy
The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.
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