Additional research is needed to inform public debate on
the impact of government
regulation on the housing market. This research includes cost/benefit
analyses of
individual regulations, investigations of the impact of regulations
on affordable housing,
city- or state-specific research on regulatory barriers, and
analyses of the effects
of regulatory barrier removal in those jurisdictions that
effectively have reformed
their regulatory processes. In addition, further research
would be useful to understand
why many jurisdictions employ regulations to thwart housing
production and
what impacts housing shortages created by regulatory barriers
have on municipal and
regional economic competitiveness.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has
an important role to
play in stimulating research on the relationship between government
regulation and
housing supply and cost. This role includes investing research
dollars in the collection
of both quantitative and qualitative data on regulatory practices
throughout the nation.
It also includes providing “seed” money to researchers
to stimulate use of this data
to answer a set of relevant policy questions.
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