US is Struggling to Build Affordable Housing

America’s housing affordability crisis may be about more than high mortgage rates and restrictive zoning. Boston Fed Principal Economist and Policy Advisor Paul Willen says soaring construction costs are making many new housing projects financially unworkable, even after they’ve already won approval. He points to research showing construction productivity has barely improved in decades, even as productivity across much of the rest of the economy has surged. (Source: Bloomberg)

America’s housing affordability crisis may be about more than high mortgage rates and restrictive zoning. Boston Fed Principal Economist and Policy Advisor Paul Willen says soaring construction costs are making many new housing projects financially unworkable, even after they’ve already won approval. He points to research showing construction productivity has barely improved in decades, even as productivity across much of the rest of the economy has surged. (Source: Bloomberg)