Housing Policy – Page 3 – Cantilever Real Estate

California steps up reform to join the single-stair bandwagon

April 7, 2026 by bp56691

California lawmakers have been at the forefront of zoning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability. New legislation filed Tuesday would put the state on the path to joining single-stair reform that other states and cities have already adopted. Assemblymember Alex Lee’s newly filed bill proposes increasing housing construction by reforming California’s building code to […]

Trending: employer housing benefits narrow affordability gaps

April 6, 2026 by bp56691

A growing number of private sector employers have quietly begun offering workers a benefit that helps them live closer to the office at a price they can afford. As housing costs soar, it has been policymakers nationwide who’ve hogged the headlines, zeroing in on zoning reform and regulatory rollbacks as fixes for America’s housing affordability […]

NYC builds taller housing again, as state, city law reset the stage

April 3, 2026 by bp56691

New York City is increasing housing density, though much of the early progress stems from state law changes and rezonings that predate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. Those moves are now starting to show up in steel and concrete, even as Mamdani advances his own housing agenda. The clearest example is in Midtown South. City officials […]

California bills target condo deposits and defect liability

March 31, 2026 by bp56691

California lawmakers are weighing bills that would reduce regulatory barriers to revive condominium construction, which has dropped significantly from its peak in the years before the Great Recession. Assembly Bill 1406 would raise the state’s liquidated-damages limit on new condominium sales from 3% of the purchase price to 6%. Backers frame the bill as “condo […]

Austin council pushes new zoning laws for missing middle housing

March 30, 2026 by bp56691

Austin city lawmakers bent on ensuring the Texas capital sustains momentum in a housing supply expansion that cuts into a home shortage and slows price growth took another step last week. Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a new package of land-use changes that would accelerate construction of missing-middle housing types such as duplexes, fourplexes […]

Arizona housing reform push would curb HOA, design mandates

March 22, 2026 by bp56691

After failing to turn starter-home legislation into law, Arizona lawmakers are advancing two bills that would curb local control over design standards, homeowners associations and contractor licensing – a renewed attempt to chip away at costs amid the state’s housing shortage. Lawmakers are close to passing a measure that would strip municipalities of much of […]

The housing blind spot: Why the Senate’s housing bill is a start, not a solution

March 20, 2026 by bp56691

The ROAD to Housing Act passed 89 to 10, but omits employer housing benefits like tax free savings and matching support.

Wyoming refund exposes legal risk for local housing fee ordinances

March 16, 2026 by bp56691

Small wins on impact fees occasionally occur in costly U.S. housing markets. Teton County, Wyoming, officials agreed last week to refund a $24,325 “affordable workforce housing” fee that a homeowner had to pay to obtain a permit to build a single-family home. The payment settles a lawsuit the homeowner filed last year in a Wyoming […]

Housing muni market swells amid affordability policy debate

March 16, 2026 by bp56691

Financing affordable housing development – typically for lower-income households – is one of the most challenging matters in real estate. Making the economics work on a deal requires layered “hard and soft” funding sources as developers navigate rising costs, policy instability, and structural gaps in the subsidy system. The process is so complicated that professionals […]

Trump executive order targets regulatory barriers to homebuilding

March 13, 2026 by bp56691

The White House announced on Friday afternoon its effort to challenge what it calls “unnecessary regulatory barriers” to homebuilding by issuing a broad executive order to reduce environmental, permitting and programmatic restrictions that federal officials say are contributing to the nation’s housing affordability crisis. The order, signed by Donald Trump, directs multiple federal agencies to […]