Home Building 101
How houses are built and where that process can get unaffordable.
The United States is in a housing crisis. And the main reason is simple: Supply and demand.
When the supply of houses is low, the prices are high. When the supply is high, prices are low. Today, prices are high and going higher.
“America is dealing with a housing affordability crisis that is affecting every community from coast to coast,” NAHB CEO Jim Tobin states. “There’s a lack of supply in the marketplace. We’ve got high interest rates that are keeping people locked into their existing homes. And we’ve got a regulatory environment that makes it harder and harder for builders to build homes affordably.”
Challenges for builders include:
- Zoning,
- Impact fees,
- Material costs,
- Permitting and inspection delays, and
- Labor shortages.
See NAHB’s 10-point housing plan — which outlines initiatives that can be taken at the local, state and federal levels to address the root of the problem, housing supply — for more information.
