Walls of Perception: Contrasting Views on Housing Barriers Across Sectors in Oregon

The existence and consequences of a housing market that has made housing scarce and difficult to afford are well known. The perceptions of the causes of housing scarcity and affordability – and the barriers to producing housing – are not well understood. This study relies on survey analysis to examine perceptions of government, private, and nonprofit professionals in Oregon. We rely on a framework that includes five categories of factors affecting housing markets: (1) supply of buildable land; (2) construction costs; (3) industry structure; (4) demand for space; (5) process and permitting. We examine the barriers considered most extreme by three respondent groups and use chi-square analysis to measure the statistical difference in perspective across groups. The research shows that barriers to housing production are multiple and complex, and vary by community. Our analysis shows a strong agreement on barriers related to construction costs and land supply, and disagreement about the role of process/permitting.