Today, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) pressed industry experts on the role government rules and regulations play in inflating housing costs across the U.S.

Watch the full clip HERE.

Dr. Emily Hamilton, Senior Research Fellow, George Mason University: “One estimate, that’s now about 20 years old, finds that in the most expensive metros in the U.S., about half the cost of housing is due to land use regulations…and we know it’s gotten a lot worse.”

Rep. Luetkemeyer: “What percentage of an individual’s income, the average person, would go to housing?”

Mr. Norbert Michel, Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary & Financial Alternatives, CATO Institute: “It’s more than half.”

Rep. Luetkemeyer: “The average individual is paying more than half of their income for housing. And the rules and regulations cost almost half of what the cost is. There’s our problem.”

Background: Local zoning restrictions, like prohibitions on multifamily residences, limitations on manufactured housing, and stipulations for minimum lot sizes, constrain the housing supply and elevate the costs of constructed housing. These regulations, in addition to the president’s failure to limit spending, have spiked the cost of housing in the U.S.