Traditional policy kits focus on: request Aspects of the issue: Rent control, eviction moratoriums, direct payments, home improvement subsidies, mortgage assistance. The role of such policies may be limited. But as governor after governor has acknowledged, there is a growing recognition that the solution lies primarily in the problem. supply side. Whether there is actually a housing shortage in the United States is a matter of debate and definition, but experts estimate that improving overall affordability would require reducing the existing housing inventory of approximately 142 million units by 170 million units. It is said that it will be necessary to increase the number of households by 7.3 million.
As a result, the pendulum swings to encourage growth and development. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Democratic) said, “Rent is too high and we don’t have enough housing.” “Our response is simple: ‘Build, baby, build!'” She has set a goal of installing 75,000 new or renovated units in five years. She touted a new $1.4 billion state investment in construction. “The biggest threat to our future prosperity is housing affordability,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), who has pledged $100 million to help build 35,000 starter homes by 2028. It called for $50 million worth of infrastructure and other spending.
But what’s particularly interesting about this year’s State of the State address is that the governor frequently called for not only more spending, but also to reduce regulatory barriers to new construction in the private sector. Nine of those governors made that claim in some form. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has proposed allowing homeowners to rent accessory dwelling units, better known as granny flats or casitas. He also called for easing occupancy limits and parking requirements for new construction. “Housing policies that create more affordable options for Coloradans are my Roman Empire,” he said. “If you don’t get the joke, feel free to ask a Gen Z person.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democratic) wants to eliminate New York City’s housing density limits, especially so-called floor area ratio limits. Like Polis, she wants to allow people to convert existing basements and basement apartments into legally rentable units.Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) has advocated making it easier for developers to repurpose vacant parking lots, half-empty office buildings and abandoned industrial sites. to the housing. He highlighted 250 new units in Meriden, Conn., to replace a bankrupt shopping center. Maryland Governor Wes Moore (Democratic) has promised to “cut out the government red tape that makes it difficult to build quality housing.” He said: “We have to protect farmland and wild habitat, but we also have to make sure we encourage housing where it should be built.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) called housing “the biggest challenge we face” and said the housing shortage “has been going on for decades.” She is proposing the Affordable Housing Act to “reduce barriers to housing production and give communities the tools to develop more housing where they are needed.” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has ordered the state’s Democratic-majority Legislature to create a public, quasi-judicial process to consider and manage the environmental, social, and fiscal impacts of development. They called for reconsidering a 1970 law that made construction expensive and time-consuming by requiring construction. “This law was enacted at a time when we were growing so fast,” he said. “Today, we face a different reality: one in which families are in dire need of homes.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced the creation of a new housing authority as a one-stop shop for contractors seeking permits, and local governments to adopt development-friendly zoning and permitting requirements. urged Congress to make state aid conditional on . Meanwhile, red states continue to work to speed up screening, testing and permitting. “A permit bill may not sound like front-page news,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R). “But listen to someone who spent 35 years in the construction industry. The bureaucratic permitting process is bad for everyone but the government.”
The country’s pressing housing needs cannot wait for action from a stalled Washington. Fortunately, the states, the laboratories of our democracy, are starting their own experiments.