Most Affordable Places to Live Well

Forbes reports:

Desirability and the supply and demand principle contribute to local housing prices, but it's not the only driver. In fact, land use policies and regulations often have more to do with housing prices than demand.

Houston, for example, has virtually no zoning or growth regulation policies, and as a result, has some of the most affordable housing in the country. The same can be said of Dallas and Atlanta.

"The prices we see today are reflections of historical decisions on land use," says Elliot Eisenberg, NAHB senior economist. "Affordability is often a problem when fees, carrying costs and insurance are really high. [In Southern California] a builder can pay $100,000 in fees, which isn't right or wrong, but we can all agree that it gets passed on to the home buyer."

Those who are concerned about equality might focus their attention on getting rid of zoning and growth regulation policies.