regulations and housing costs

Ed Glaeser has done a considerable amount of research on the impact of local rules on land use and real estate costs. His conclusion is simple: Zoning determines property values. A group of wealthy communities with restrictive building covenants acts as a planning body for a metropolitan region. Fewer regulations, like in the American South, result in lower housing costs.

This theme is an old one at towers of ilium, but it bears repeating.