Title page 1

Contents 3

Summary 2

Introduction and Economic Context 4

Aggregate Trends in Housing Supply (and Demand) 5

Housing Stock 5

Vacancy Rates 6

Housing Construction 8

Demand Context 9

Interaction of Supply and Demand: Housing Costs 11

Is There a Housing Shortage? 12

Local Supply Conditions 13

Supply Conditions Across the Income Spectrum and for Different Housing Characteristics 15

Barriers to Increasing Supply 17

Regulatory Costs 17

The Cost of Financing 18

Construction Input Costs 19

Labor 19

Materials 21

Supply Shocks 21

Other Potential Factors 22

Policy Considerations 23

Federal Policies and Grants 23

Incentives for the Construction Industry 25

Immigration Policy 25

Trade Policy 26

Selected Policy Proposals in the 119th Congress 26

Author Information 27

Disclaimer 27

Figures 3

Figure 1. Total Housing Units 6

Figure 2. Rental Vacancy Rates 8

Figure 3. Homeowner Vacancy Rates 8

Figure 4. New Privately Owned Housing Unit Starts 9

Figure 5. Household Formation 10

Figure 6. Months' Supply of Single-Family Homes 11

Figure 7. Rental Vacancy Rates for the 75 Largest MSAs 14

Figure 8. Homeowner Vacancy Rates for the 75 Largest MSAs 15