The cost of housing is skyrocketing in many metropolitan area across the country and, as Wake County grows, we’re experiencing those effects here as well. In an opinion piece published by the New York Times, two economics professors describe how land use restrictions contribute to increasing housing costs.
According to the article, “growing regulatory costs, delays, and opposition from neighboring homeowners… has significantly reduced the development of new housing stock, especially in cities where the economy is strongest.”
The authors argue that these challenges have stunted wage and gross domestic product growth in American cities by 50% in 50 years!
Affordable housing is critical to the success of communities, but also to the nation as a whole. Developing smart growth policies would encourage more affordable housing to be built, which would largely benefit America’s middle-class workers.
Check out the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/opinion/housing-regulations-us-economy.html?ref=opinion