With the election behind us, we ask builders what five things government should be doing at the local, state, and federal levels to get the housing market moving at full capacity. Their answers touched on all levels of government. Here's what they said.
Fred Delibero, CEO // Summit Custom Homes // Lee’s Summit, Missouri

1) Tax Credits: The Trump administration needs to focus on the continued easing of residential mortgage lending standards and support low and middle-income housing tax credits. I’m not suggesting that we should roll back standards to pre-recession norms, but there is room to ease with the support of federal insurance, and that will drive sales.
Particularly interesting is the idea of a middle-income housing tax credit, recently introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), that aims to incentivize builders to target rental housing for families with incomes from 60% to 100% of the area median gross income. There is a void in quality housing stock, both in the for-rent and for-sale sectors, because of the higher costs associated with increased demand and burdensome regulation. In many cases, cities haven’t warmed to the reality that delivering affordable housing requires density. Builders are finding it difficult to deliver product to this segment profitably.
2) Regulations: The federal government needs to ease—and in some cases, roll back—burdensome regulations that stifle developer and builder investment. The Waters of the United States Act has caused incredible and unreasonable hardships on developers, in most cases without a quantifiable result. At the local level, increases in regulations and enhanced development standards have hurt, as have much slower turnaround times for permits and entitlements. Simply put, it takes our company about six weeks longer to build a home today than it did three to five years ago, and six or more months longer to delivered finished lots, all because of increases in regulation, detail requirements, and perpetually short-staffed municipalities.
3) Work Visas: Leadership at the federal level needs to open the flow of labor across the border vis temporary work visas. It’s no secret that the Obama administration has clamped down on the practice of issuing work visas, allowing construction related companies to bring in qualified labor from outside our borders. Expanding the work visa program will provide the labor needed to finish product quicker and meet demand better. The reality is, there simply isn’t enough labor to meet demand in the current environment. This isn’t a “cheap” labor issue, rather, it is a labor access issue.
4) Lower Taxes: Lower tax rates—including federal, state, and local income taxes, property taxes, and impact fees to name a few—will drive investment in our economy by small- and medium-sized businesses, and increase consumer investment in owning real estate. A new, simplified federal tax system will also drive consumer confidence and the financial markets.
5) Create Growth: In the end, it’s all about job creation and wage growth. Pro job creation policies, such as reducing labor restrictions, cutting back burdensome regulation, and minimizing time consuming federal reporting will help small and midsized employers focus on growing their businesses. Sound tax policy will put more money in the pockets of consumers and business owners alike, creating economic growth and demand. Demand in the market creates demand for labor to meet that demand, and that results in wage growth. At the local level, cities need to focus on policies that drive economic development and adopt balanced incentives that drive development and investment in private and public infrastructure.
Frank McKee Jr., Vice President // McKee Group // Springfield, Pennsylvania

[ 1 ] Incentivize Buying Make sure that mortgage interest deduction stays in place and create a tax credit for first-time home buyers. It should be higher than it was six years ago. Support legislation to revive private residential mortgage-backed securities for greater financing options. [ 2 ] Lighten Restrictions Curb restrictions and regulations that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) puts in place, especially current stormwater management regulations. They have made us walk away from many jobs because the cost of stormwater is so high, profit could not be attained on the development. Cut back U.S. Army Corps jurisdiction over waters of small sizes and leave it to states to regulate all but the biggest rivers and waterways that are truly interstate. [ 3 ] Legal Reform Opposition groups who appeal developments should pay for legal fees and delays caused by their appeals. Essentially, if the group loses all appeals (many times groups do this just to delay development), it should pay the fees. [ 4 ] Fix Approvals The approval process in our area takes double-digit years. This process should be streamlined. Whenever you talk about this with people in other geographic areas they do not believe that it could possibly take that long. In Pennsylvania, cut back on the time required for the subdivision and land development process; offer a streamlined fast track for residential home projects in infill locations; and change zoning to allow for smaller lots. [ 5 ] Fees and Codes Reduce or cap increases on municipal connection fees. On the state level, have consistent application of building and energy codes. And, take an ax to the BOCA code and allow for more flexibility in choice of materials.
Doug French, CEO // Stylecraft Builders // College Station, Texas

1) Stability: The federal government should focus on providing a stable and predictable economic environment. Fear and uncertainty are bad for business, and politicians are creating an environment of uncertainty by their failure to come together and deal with the crucial issues. When Americans are uncertain about health insurance costs, the national deficit, and how long Social Security will be around, it breeds fear. With a political environment of stability, more buyers will be willing to make a purchase decision.
2) The Deficit: The federal government has to work together to address our national deficit. Long-term this is our biggest economic threat. We cannot continue to govern our resources irresponsibly and expect that there will not be a price to pay. Getting out of debt takes discipline and requires sacrifice. Both sides of the argument must come together and make some tough decisions. It is my belief we must responsibly find ways to decrease expenses while increasing revenues.
3) Tax Reform: The federal government needs to get to work on fixing a broken tax code. The system is rigged and it is the family businesses and hard-working Americans that are paying the price. We do not have the time to lobby for favorable tax code or take advantage of complex tax structures. We are too busy creating jobs and building America. The death tax is another broken system that punishes the family business owner while rewarding those who utilize complex tax shelters and legal structures. Many family business owners would be considered the 1% of earners in America and we pay our fair share.
4) Local Ordinances: Local government has to get involved in passing regulation and policy that allow for smart and efficient development. Most municipalities do not understand the direct correlation between inefficient development ordinances and home prices. The price of the lot is the biggest input into the cost of a home. Municipalities claim to want to keep housing affordable and even admit that affordability is a problem, but then they continue to pile on policy that is contrary to that statement. City staff and local government must listen and work with developers to come up with win-win solutions to infrastructure and budget constraints while maintaining responsible development.
5) Mortgage Fixes: The mortgage and lending industry continues to be plagued by regulation and red tape. I believe there is a need for regulation as Wall Street has not done a good job of self-regulating. With that said, there is efficient logical policy and then there is inefficient bureaucracy. The pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
Dustin Bogue, President, CEO, & Director // UCP // San Jose, California

1) Dodd-Frank: The need to overhaul, not eliminate, Dodd-Frank is profound given the status of bank lending in both the retail sense and the commercial sense. Small to mid-sized banks have limited financing to home builders due to the additional regulatory haranguing they take related to “risk” assets, and they have correspondingly limited the amount of home financing. Overhauling Dodd-Frank could free up retail lending to provide additional liquidity to the buyer pool, thereby providing more home sales.
2) Environmental Policy: By virtue of having a no-nonsense individual at the helm of notoriously difficult agencies such as the EPA and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the administration could stimulate the management of those agencies into action. At any rate, I would expect to see a loosening of EPA-related entitlements associated with various energy projects across the U.S., which could lead to substantial job growth in Middle America, the Southeast, and the South.
3) Taxes: I would expect the Trump administration to seek to reduce the corporate tax rate; simplify and overhaul our ridiculously complicated tax system; and, perhaps most important, make the established housing tax credits, affordable housing tax credits, and interest deductions sacrosanct. Continuity associated with homeownership tax benefits will continue to be a catalyst for our industry, and the lower corporate tax rate will allow additional funds to be reinvested in our communities.
4) Infrastructure and Immigration: I view these two issues as intertwined because there is a promise out there to “double spend on much needed infrastructure,” which could indeed be a fantastic catalyst to productivity on a national level and significant job creation at a local level. However, you cannot accomplish this with today’s labor pool. In essence, the home building industry could find itself competing for labor against infrastructure jobs that, as a result of Davis-Bacon, could be higher paying. This could, inadvertently, have a negative effect on home building unless there is a significant incremental increase in the labor pool, which is not likely going to happen with immigration reform.
5) Affordable Housing: Fundamentally, affordable housing is a federal, state, and municipal issue that has become an impediment to our industry. It is the responsibility of the aforementioned agencies to provide housing, and thus, it should be a larger federal issue. By doing this, federal agencies could offer funding mechanisms to provide GAP funding for local agencies to implement. Whether it is a reform of HUD or simply an allocation issue, relieving home builders of the financial burden to provide affordable housing could open up more opportunities to acquire land and deliver more affordable homes.