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The Local Residential Land Use Regulatory Environment Across U.S. Housing Markets: Evidence from a New Wharton Index

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  • Joseph Gyourko
  • Jonathan Hartley
  • Jacob Krimmel

Abstract

We report results from a new survey of local residential land use regulatory regimes for over 2,450 primarily suburban communities across the U.S. The most highly regulated markets are on the two coasts, with the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan areas being the most highly regulated according to our metric. Comparing our new data to that from a previous survey finds that the housing bust associated with the Great Recession did not lead any major market that previously was highly regulated to reverse course and deregulate to any significant extent. Moreover, regulation in most large coastal markets increased over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Gyourko & Jonathan Hartley & Jacob Krimmel, 2019. "The Local Residential Land Use Regulatory Environment Across U.S. Housing Markets: Evidence from a New Wharton Index," NBER Working Papers 26573, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jackson, Kristoffer (Kip), 2018. "Regulation, land constraints, and California’s boom and bust," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 130-147.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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