{"id":157690,"date":"2022-04-14T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T10:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=157690"},"modified":"2022-04-13T12:36:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T22:36:35","slug":"uhero-housing-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/14\/uhero-housing-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"UHERO<\/abbr>: Reforming housing regulation needed for more affordable housing"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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A new survey on housing by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Economic Research Organization<\/a> (UHERO<\/abbr>) found that Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> has some of the most restrictive housing regulations in the nation.<\/p>\n

Home prices in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> are among the highest in the nation. In 2021, the median single-family home resale price was about two and a half times the national median. One of the factors that may explain Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s high home prices are government regulations that limit the ability of the housing market to create the units necessary to meet demand.<\/p>\n

While clearly important to the production of new housing, regulatory barriers are difficult to measure. To study the impact of regulation on housing markets across the country, researchers have often relied on the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index (Wharton Index). The methodology relies on surveying public officials to quantify the stringency of local regulation surrounding new home production.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Wharton Index excludes the state\u2019s housing markets, resulting in the elimination of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> from many national studies on the burden of housing regulation. To fill this gap, UHERO<\/abbr> administered the Wharton Index survey across Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> counties in 2021. This brief presents the first results from the survey findings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Highlights from the brief:<\/p>\n