The White House today released its Economic Report of the President (ERP) that contains a section on housing and homeownership that cites NAHB regulatory studies.

Specifically, the ERP highlighted an initiative proposed during the Biden administration that called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to adopt and implement the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs.

Citing NAHB data, the ERP said: “According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB 2024), ‘building to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) can add up to $31,000 to the price of a new home and take up to 90 years for a home buyer to realize a payback on the added cost of the home.’”

NAHB worked diligently on the legislative and legal fronts to ensure this codes mandate would not be implemented and we were successful in our efforts. In a case brought by NAHB and 15 states, a ruling last month by the U.S. federal court in Texas prevents HUD and USDA from implementing their final determination to impose the 2021 IECC and the 2019 ASHRAE 90.1 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs.

Prior to our legal victory, NAHB convinced HUD to wait until Dec. 31, 2026, to implement the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain housing programs. NAHB has also been working to get legislation introduced to prevent HUD and USDA from ever implementing these energy code standards.

The ERP subsection of the housing report entitled “Quantifying the Bureaucrat Tax from State and Local Housing Supply Barriers” cited another NAHB study on how regulations add to the cost of housing. The ERP noted that fees, mandates, regulations and red tape make up 29.5% of the cost of a new home.

“As added context, the NAHB estimates that the bureaucrat tax constitutes 24% of the cost of a new home,” the White House report stated. The ERP also cited a joint study by NAHB and the National Multifamily Housing Council that regulatory costs add an even higher share of 41% for multifamily housing.

The ERP housing policy recommendations include:

• Create a fast-track process for all housing developments that features capped timelines and permit fees, appropriate and justifiable impact fees, third-party inspections, and an expedited appeal process that ensures faster and less arbitrary dispute resolution.
• Curtail gratuitous mandates that restrict housing supply, such as restrictions on the number of units that can be built in any given time period, costly green energy building requirements, and discriminatory labor rules.
• Eliminate any rule, regulation or policy that prohibits the development of new, detached single-family housing outside prescribed geographic limits.
• Provide stronger private property rights to landlords to help protect them from losses from fraud and nonpaying tenants.
• Protect consumer choice.

NAHB continues to advocate for the reduction of these regulatory burdens.