November 06, 2025

Download brief

Rising housing costs and limited supply have made access to stable and affordable housing increasingly out of reach for millions of Americans, straining household budgets and slowing economic growth. The scale of housing affordability challenges is significant, affecting communities across rural and urban America. The primary driver of this challenge is the persistent underproduction of homes for households at all income levels, which has failed to keep pace with growing demand. Addressing this challenge will require coordinated action among government, private sector, and nonprofit organizations to increase the availability of housing.

JPMorganChase is committed to supporting the communities we serve and advancing solutions to housing affordability challenges. The JPMorganChase PolicyCenter is launching a series of papers highlighting effective state and local policies that expand housing supply and improve access to homeownership. 

In this first paper of the series, we examine strategies for reducing regulatory barriers to housing production, recommending that state and local policymakers take the following evidence-based steps to unlock housing supply:

State and local recommendations

  • Reform zoning and land use rules to allow for more types of housing, especially “missing middle” options, by cutting overly restrictive regulations.
  • Update building codes to support faster, more cost-effective construction while maintaining safety and quality.
  • Streamline permitting processes to improve transparency, speed up approvals, and reduce delays for new housing development.

 The series will follow the building blocks outlined below—strategies that can help reinforce housing production ecosystems when applied at the state and local levels. The first paper in this series will dive into the first building block: state and local strategies to reduce regulatory barriers and unlock housing supply through land use, zoning, building code, and permitting reforms.

Evidence-Based Building Blocks for Housing Production


The Strategies to Unlock Housing Supply are:

  1. Reduce Regulatory Barriers (current topic)

    Streamline land use and zoning, modernize building codes, and expedite permitting to help make the construction of various housing options more feasible.
  2. Support Innovations in Construction

    Promote market adoption of innovative construction techniques, like manufactured, modular, and other factory-built housing, to improve cost and time efficiencies in housing development.
  3. Leverage Strategic Financing Opportunities

    Explore financing opportunities that leverage targeted land and property acquisition strategies, including publicly owned land and transit-adjacent properties, to boost housing growth.
  4. Strengthen Production & Preservation Capabilities

    Foster collaboration between government, nonprofits, and private sector partners to leverage resources and scale up housing solutions.

Evidence-Based Building Blocks for Housing Production


The Strategies to Unlock Housing Supply are:

  1. Reduce Regulatory Barriers
    Streamline land use and zoning, modernize building codes, and expedite permitting to help make the construction of various housing options more feasible.
  2. Support Innovations in Construction (current topic)
    Promote market adoption of innovative construction techniques, like manufactured, modular, and other factory-built housing, to improve cost and time efficiencies in housing development.
  3. Leverage Strategic Financing Opportunities

    Explore financing opportunities that leverage targeted land and property acquisition strategies, including publicly owned land and transit-adjacent properties, to boost housing growth.
  4. Strengthen Production & Preservation Capabilities

    Foster collaboration between government, nonprofits, and private sector partners to leverage resources and scale up housing solutions.

Evidence-Based Building Blocks for Housing Production


The Strategies to Unlock Housing Supply are:

  1. Reduce Regulatory Barriers
    Streamline land use and zoning, modernize building codes, and expedite permitting to help make the construction of various housing options more feasible.
  2. Support Innovations in Construction
    Promote market adoption of innovative construction techniques, like manufactured, modular, and other factory-built housing, to improve cost and time efficiencies in housing development.
  3. Leverage Strategic Financing Opportunities (current topic)
    Explore financing opportunities that leverage targeted land and property acquisition strategies, including publicly owned land and transit-adjacent properties, to boost housing growth.
  4. Strengthen Production & Preservation Capabilities

    Foster collaboration between government, nonprofits, and private sector partners to leverage resources and scale up housing solutions.

Evidence-Based Building Blocks for Housing Production


The Strategies to Unlock Housing Supply are:

  1. Reduce Regulatory Barriers
    Streamline land use and zoning, modernize building codes, and expedite permitting to help make the construction of various housing options more feasible.
  2. Support Innovations in Construction
    Promote market adoption of innovative construction techniques, like manufactured, modular, and other factory-built housing, to improve cost and time efficiencies in housing development.
  3. Leverage Strategic Financing Opportunities
    Explore financing opportunities that leverage targeted land and property acquisition strategies, including publicly owned land and transit-adjacent properties, to boost housing growth.
  4. Strengthen Production & Preservation Capabilities (current topic)
    Foster collaboration between government, nonprofits, and private sector partners to leverage resources and scale up housing solutions.

Ready to learn more?

Download the full brief to explore promising, evidence-based solutions that help reduce regulatory barriers and increase housing affordability.

Download the full brief PDF

You are now leaving JPMorganChase

JPMorganChase's website terms, privacy and security policies don't apply to the site or app you're about to visit. Please review its website terms, privacy and security policies to see how they apply to you. JPMorganChase isn't responsible for (and doesn't provide) any products, services or content at this third-party site or app, except for products and services that explicitly carry the JPMorganChase name.

Proceed