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Staff: Tennessee housing affordability stems largely from undersupply; land-use rules and fees cited
Summary
Staff told the commission that Tennessee's housing affordability problems are driven chiefly by a shortage of homes relative to demand, with population growth and land-use regulations (including single-family zoning and permitting delays) among the main contributors; members pressed staff on impact fees, public land inventories and developer barriers.
Staff presenting an update on the commission's housing affordability study said the state's problems appear rooted in undersupply, driven by population growth and local land-use rules.
"The problem of housing affordability comes down to a simple fact of undersupply," said Speaker 7, who delivered the staff presentation requested by House Joint Resolution 139. Speaker 7 told members staff's preliminary county-level analysis and stakeholder interviews point to population growth concentrated in some counties and land-use regulation as prominent drivers of reduced housing availability.
The staff memo and maps in the packet show county population growth and availability measures. Speaker 7 reported a preliminary correlation of about -65% between county population growth and the housing availability rate, saying this indicates…
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