"Why have house prices and rents increased so much in New Hampshire? This study finds that residential land-use regulations, mostly at the local level, are a major cause. Examples of local regulations that prevent people from building homes include: minimum lot sizes, frontages and setbacks, single-family-only requirements, bureaucratic requirements for accessory dwelling units, maximum heights and densities, minimum parking requirements, historic and village district requirements, municipal land ownership, subdivision regulations, impact fees, and simply the unwillingness of zoning boards to issue variances.
Widely available measures show that New Hampshire is one of the most restrictive states in the country for residential development. By suppressing building, land-use regulations drive up the price of housing as demand rises. Removing or relaxing these regulations would allow prices to rise more gradually.
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The main reason for growing development restrictions seems to be “rent-seeking.” In other words, some homeowners in the towns with the biggest housing demand see zoning as a way of boosting their wealth by artificially limiting the supply of housing. This process may have gotten out of hand now, though, as pandemic-driven housing demand has well outstripped supply...."
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/Residential-Land-Use-Regulations-in-New-Hampshire-Report.pdf
Widely available measures show that New Hampshire is one of the most restrictive states in the country for residential development. By suppressing building, land-use regulations drive up the price of housing as demand rises. Removing or relaxing these regulations would allow prices to rise more gradually.
...
The main reason for growing development restrictions seems to be “rent-seeking.” In other words, some homeowners in the towns with the biggest housing demand see zoning as a way of boosting their wealth by artificially limiting the supply of housing. This process may have gotten out of hand now, though, as pandemic-driven housing demand has well outstripped supply...."
https://jbartlett.org/wp-content/uploads/Residential-Land-Use-Regulations-in-New-Hampshire-Report.pdf