Local and state policies have more than doubled the price of building multi-family homes in California than Texas, according to research institute Rand.
“In California, California is 2.3 times higher than Texas and 1.5 times higher than Colorado,” the states the researchers tested said in a press release.
That number varies across Golden State. Los Angeles is 2.5 times more expensive than Texas, but that number is three times more expensive and three times more expensive in San Diego and San Francisco, respectively.
While Rand acknowledges the role that “local factors such as land costs, more expensive labor and seismic safety standards” play in driving apartments in California buildings, researchers say “most of the higher costs can be attributed to factors such as policy decisions such as long approval timelines and prescribed building requirements.”
California’s housing market is stuck. This is the reason
“California is significantly more expensive than both Colorado and Texas in all the cost categories we’ve looked at,” said Jason Ward, the report’s lead author and RAND economist. “One way to address California’s high housing costs is to find lessons from states that are easier and cheaper to build new homes.”
So, what can California do? Rand suggests that officials take some tips from Texas and other states. for example:
The California government can adopt Texas rules that must approve or reject housing developments within 30 days. Synchronize construction inspections to “reduce the seven-month average gap in construction time between California and Texas.” Reduce government fees.
But perhaps the most daring proposal is to look at housing proposals from a new perspective.
“The environmental benefits from new homes exposed to California’s strict energy efficiency requirements will need to be weighed against the low level of negative impact of new home construction, as these costly requirements will result in new homes built on lower environmental standards resulting in improved average efficiency compared to aging homes in California,” Rand said.
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