This post will be short and “sweet.”

So we’ve heard a lot about the problems with getting new housing built, in large measure because of the rules and processes that are part of getting local government approvals for new housing, particularly for anything other than large-lot single-family homes.  So much so, that reports over the past several years have shown a substantial housing “deficit:” that is, not enough homes being built to meet the demand for new housing by growth in population numbers.  The solution, in part, has been mooted to be, get those local governments to reform their zoning and land use codes, those laggards!

Here’s the interesting part.  A recent story in the DesNews, What are the top 10 most stable housing markets? Here’s how Utah, Idaho rank, said this:

this week, CNBC ranked Utah No. 1 for having the most “stable” housing market, according to the outlet’s America’s Top States for Business study.

Interestingly, that didn’t mean the slowest rise in housing cost.  The ranking was based on a number of factors, including the number of new housing starts per 1,000 population.  Utah’s position in that statistic, indicating how construction of new housing is going?  Number 1!

Of the top ten states in the housing stability ranking, Utah’s new housing starts per 1,000 population in the last year was 12.2.  Compare that to such a regulation-averse state as Texas, where the number was 8.9.  Or Idaho, where it was 10.5.

So does that sound like a place where locals officials are stymieing new housing construction?  Hmmmm.  Doesn’t mean we couldn’t do better, but maybe we ain’t as bad as “everyone” says…