Impact fees, regulations, delays in construction, regulatory barriers and taxes all contribute to affordable housing problems. Dr. Bob McClure, president and CEO of The James Madison Institute, offered an overview of an important study about how government actions affect workforce housing at a joint meeting this week between Gulf Coast Builders Exchange and The Argus Foundation.

This study examined market forces and how when government intervenes, it can purposefully, or not purposefully, make housing more expensive. Dr. McClure started at the 50,000-foot level and got all of the way down to the non-function of Sarasota County’s impact fee calculator and how this is affecting housing prices.