NAHB economist says lack of growth reduces housing affordability

Pennsylvania needs to rethink its “anti-growth” mentality in order to become more fiscally sound, according to Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, senior economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“In order to attract business into Pennsylvania, it needs to be home-builder friendly or it will continue to lose out to other states. Other states look more attractive to businesses and residents,” Eisenberg noted. “The state needs to rethink what it’s going to do moving forward. ‘No-growth’ is a recipe for a bad situation,” he said.

He suggested that local planning and zoning boards, as well as local municipalities, look at density incentives and still preserve farmlands. “Denying growth reduces affordability and results in higher taxes,” he added. “Essentially we need to work together to allow housing growth, yet preserving agriculture and the small villages for which Pennsylvania is known.”

Eisenberg conducted a survey of home building in the Dauphin County area and found its new homes to be priced “well-over the national average” and property taxes to be “nearly double” that of the national average.

His economic impact study was presented Wednesday evening to the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg, along with area legislators. The study concludes that a representative group of 100 single-family and 67 multi-family homes built in Lower Paxton Township in 2008 will generate a cumulative $29.2 million in revenue over a 15-year period, more than offsetting $13.8 million in costs.

Eisenberg’s study showed that builders in the Harrisburg area employed approximately 2,160 in 2008, making the industry the eighth-largest employer in the area.

“The results show that home building is more than paying its own way and should put to rest any notion that existing homeowners are subsidizing new home construction in this area,” Eisenberg said. “This result tells me that local residents should be thanking the building industry for footing the bill for a lot of municipal services.”