After graduate school, my wife and I chose to move our family to Houston rather than back home to Utah, where most of our extended family lives. The deciding factor was simple: In Houston we could afford a house.
There’s no mystery behind Utah’s shortage. Charlie Munger said, “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” Homeowners and local governments are acting exactly as their incentives dictate. For most Utahns, their home is their largest financial asset. And everyone knows when supply goes up, prices come down. When asked to weigh zoning changes, minimum lot sizes, or parking requirements, the rational impulse is to protect that asset’s value by limiting supply.
Local decision-makers face voters whose wealth depends on scarcity. The state, meanwhile, depends on population growth for its tax base, workforce, national political influence and family stability. Those incentives are now directly at odds.
What surprises me most is how many self-described conservatives in the state defend blatantly anti-free-market policies by invoking local autonomy. We champion free markets until it comes to housing, then suddenly embrace regulation that blocks building more and cheaper homes. If we believe in property rights and markets, we should also believe the state has a duty to prevent anti-market rules that choke supply. Let builders build and let Utah families stay close.
Dave Bird
Houston, TX