Zoning & Supply

Houston is America's largest city without traditional zoning — and its housing costs 20% below the national average. The data on markets vs. mandates.

Historic preservation laws function as permanent supply restrictions. With 38,000+ landmark properties in NYC alone and 20% of Manhattan locked under LPC review, the costs fall on everyone who needs housing.

From Oregon's 2019 reform to Montana's bipartisan duplex law, states are discovering the most powerful affordable housing tool costs nothing: removing the prohibition on building.

Minimum parking requirements embedded in local zoning codes add tens of thousands of dollars to every new home and apartment — a government-mandated tax on housing that no market would have imposed.

Filtering is one of the best-documented findings in housing economics: new market-rate construction sets off a vacancy chain that makes older units cheaper for everyone.

How local veto politics systematically restrict housing supply, raising prices for renters and buyers — and what free-market economics says about the solution.

Duplexes and small apartment buildings once filled American neighborhoods. Today they're illegal on 75% of residential land — the hidden engine of the housing crisis.

Over 800 cities mandate affordable units in new developments. Research shows these policies suppress far more market-rate housing than they create — making the crisis worse.

America's housing crisis has a hidden driver: a regulatory 'zoning tax' that embeds nearly $94,000 into the price of every new home, per NAHB-NMHC research. Here's how it works.

Oregon's urban growth boundaries were drawn to stop sprawl. Instead, they created artificial land scarcity, inflating Portland home values to $546,000 while proving Hayek's central planning critique.

Manufactured homes cost half as much as site-built per square foot, yet zoning bans and financing penalties keep them off most residential land. Here's the data.

Government permits take 81% longer than the law allows. King County delays hit 1,557 days, adding $243,000 per project. Every cost passes to homebuyers.

When California stripped ADU restrictions, permits surged 15,000%. A free-market case for accessory dwelling units as America's most cost-effective housing solution.

Mandatory parking minimums add $30,000–$50,000 per space to construction costs — costs passed directly to renters and buyers. A free-market analysis of zoning's most overlooked housing tax.

Inclusionary zoning mandates reduce housing supply, raise market-rate prices, and yield just 27 affordable units per program per year. A free-market analysis.

America faces a housing shortage of 3-5 million units. Permitting delays, environmental reviews, building codes, and regulatory compliance costs add $90,000+ to every new home.

How single-family zoning laws restrict housing supply, inflate home prices, and block affordable housing development in America's most expensive cities.

NIMBYism costs multifamily developers 5.6% in extra expenses and 7.4 months of delay per project — 'Not In My Backyard' politics are the invisible tax on American housing.