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The latest State of the Nation’s Housing report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies paints a complicated picture of today’s housing market. While affordability challenges continue to constrain supply, the housing study reveals that demand is also weakening as economic uncertainty, high interest rates and elevated home prices keep many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
According to the report, the U.S. economy added just 116,000 jobs in 2025, the fewest in a non-recession year since 2002. Combined with historically low consumer confidence and high borrowing costs, many young adults are delaying household formation, choosing instead to live with family members or roommates. Because new household formation drives both homeownership and rental demand, these trends have significant implications for the housing market.
At the same time, affordability remains a major obstacle.
The report notes that single-family housing starts declined 7% in 2025 as builders faced slower demand and rising inventories. To keep homes within reach of buyers, many builders responded by offering incentives, buying down mortgage rates and designing smaller homes on smaller lots.
These strategies may help, but they cannot fully offset the impact of rising development costs and regulatory burdens.
One of the report’s most encouraging findings is that policymakers across the country are increasingly recognizing the connection between regulation and affordability. States and municipalities are beginning to rethink zoning, land-use regulations and development processes that restrict housing production and increase costs.
Georgia has already begun taking meaningful steps in that direction.
The passage of Senate Bill 447 earlier this year established new standards for permitting transparency and accountability, helping reduce unnecessary delays in the development process. The legislation, which takes effect July 1, creates clearer timelines and greater predictability for builders and developers seeking approvals.
The Georgia Residential Land Development Council (GRLDC) believes these reforms represent an important first step toward improving housing affordability throughout the state.
“The Harvard study confirms what our members experience every day,” said Jay Knight, chairman and co-founder of GRLDC. “Housing affordability is not just a demand issue or a supply issue. It’s a process issue. Every unnecessary delay, every redundant review and every month of additional carrying costs ultimately gets added to the price of a home. If we want more attainable housing, we have to continue improving the systems that deliver it.”
GRLDC is already working on its next initiative: Final Plat Reform.
The organization recently launched an effort to address delays that occur after development is complete but before final plats are approved and recorded. These delays can prevent finished lots from reaching the market for months while developers continue paying interest, taxes, insurance and other carrying costs.
In some cases, those delays add thousands of dollars to the cost of each lot, ultimately increasing home prices for consumers.
As Georgia continues to attract new residents and employers, ensuring an adequate supply of housing will remain critical to the state’s economic success. The Harvard report suggests that addressing affordability will require more than lower interest rates or stronger economic growth. It will also require policies that encourage housing production and remove unnecessary barriers to development.
For Georgia’s housing industry, that means continuing the work of creating a more efficient, predictable and transparent development process.
The message from Harvard is clear: affordability challenges are impacting both housing supply and demand. The good news is that policymakers are increasingly willing to address the issue. Georgia’s recent reforms and ongoing efforts demonstrate that practical solutions can help improve affordability while supporting responsible growth.
As the conversation around housing affordability continues, organizations like GRLDC will remain focused on identifying reforms that reduce costs, increase housing supply and help more Georgia families achieve the dream of homeownership.
For more information on GRLDC, visit https://grldc.org/.
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