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When Elliot Eisenberg, the National Association of Home Builders' senior economist, spoke before 50 Northeast Builders Association members in Boxboro, Mass. at the end of October, he told the audience why the state is not fairing so well economically. He noted the population of Lowell, Mass. increased 10 fold between 1828 and 1850, a period when the textile factories were built. "You can't build factories like those today with all these new government regulations,?EUR??,,????'?????<? he asserted. Eisenberg contended such regulations and rules are killing and stifling industries. Eisenberg?EUR??,,????'?????<???EUR?s area of interest is, of course, building new housing. He quoted a few numbers: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 7,097 new housing units were built in Massachusetts in 2009, but as recently as 2007 there were twice as many homes built, and in 2004 there were 21,000 new housing units built. ?EUR??,,????'?????<?Starter home?EUR??,,????'?????<? homebuilder Brian Lussier, owner of Dracut-based Comfort Homes, pointed out his business has suffered since 2007, before the nationwide foreclosure crisis took hold. Lussier thinks complicated regulations and permitting are helping drive new homebuyers out of Massachusetts. Eisenberg concurred, saying local state governments are standing in the way of building new homes, because the structure of the local governments have made those governing bodies to complicated and expensive. Eisenberg won?EUR??,,????'?????<???EUR?t predict the future of the housing market, but acknowledges it won?EUR??,,????'?????<???EUR?t likely improve anytime soon. Eisenberg compared housing costs in metro Atlanta?EUR??,,????'?????<??oewhose population grows by about a 100,000 people each year?EUR??,,????'?????<??oeversus those in metro Boston. Why, he asked, is the average house price in Atlanta a third of that in Boston? He believes it?EUR??,,????'?????<???EUR?s because of all the regulations and permits required for homebuilders by local governments in Massachusetts, and thinks now is the time for local governments and builders to work together to reduce the cost of home building. |