DALLAS – The United States faces a national housing shortage, with some experts estimating a need for 3.8 to 7.3 million more housing units. Today, the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative released the newest report in the Blueprint for Opportunity series, “Build Homes, Expand Opportunity: Lessons from America’s fastest-growing cities”, ranking America’s 250 largest metro areas according to how growth-friendly their housing policies are.
The findings show that leading Sun Belt and Mountain state metropolitan areas from the Carolinas to Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho have far more growth-friendly policies than other U.S. regions, which is why they’ve overwhelmingly outperformed the rest of the nation for producing homes and maintaining affordability despite their rapid population growth.
Based on the report’s analysis, if all of America’s 250 largest metros had housing policies similar to those of the leading Sun Belt-Mountain metros, the 250 largest metros would have added about 5.6 million more homes from 2010 to 2023 than they did. Average home prices would be some $115,000 lower than they are today, while monthly rents would be $450 lower.
The following are the top 10 metros for pro-growth housing policies:
- Charlotte, NC
- Austin, TX
- Greenville, SC
- Provo, UT
- Houston, TX
- Raleigh, NC
- Des Moines, IA
- Winston-Salem, NC
- Charleston, SC
- McAllen, TX
The following are the 10 most restrictive metros:
- Honolulu, HI
- Oxnard, CA
- San Jose, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
- Springfield, MA
- San Francisco, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Tucson, AZ
- Bakersfield, CA
The report offers three main points: Faster growth in new home development is by far the most important solution for the nation’s housing challenges; policies to build more homes and policies to expand opportunity in cities, towns and neighborhoods should go hand in hand because housing and economic mobility are intertwined; and a medium-density growth model that has proved to be successful in the 25 Sun Belt-Mountain metros is likely to be the most effective path towards addressing America’s housing problems.
Twenty-five leading Sun Belt-Mountain metros highlighted in the report account for fully 41% of single-family homes and 35% of apartments built in America’s 250 largest metros between 2010 and 2023.
“Housing and economic mobility are intertwined,” said Dr. Cullum Clark, author of the report and Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. “This report shows that through smart growth policies and strong leadership, our nation can address its housing crisis while expanding opportunity in America’s metros and surrounding communities.”
The report includes policy recommendations for federal, state, local, and philanthropic leaders.
Click here to read the report and policy recommendations.
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About the George W. Bush Institute
The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at www.bushcenter.org.
About the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative
The Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative combines the public policy expertise of the George W. Bush Institute and the academic expertise of SMU. The joint initiative draws from economic policy-making experience at the highest levels and from cutting edge academic research to identify ideas for promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and faster, more inclusive growth through global competitiveness and sound immigration policy.
