I've spent more than forty years associated with the construction industry working with a manufacturer of plumbing products. Construction codes including fire, plumbing, electrical, structural, and materials have continued to evolve and improve. The finished products are meeting an ever rising minimum threshold bar of safety, energy efficiency, and the ability to survive local environments (hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, etc.). On top of that, urban zoning rules have arisen from essentially no rules in the 1960s to the ever growing list of conformance rules seen in most areas. Note: the insurance industry has been a major "hand" in the development of these construction related rules, thus Berkshire and other insurance companies have benefitted from improving loss exposure as homes have fewer fires, plumbing failure damage, structural damage from environmental events and the like. The zoning aspect has also greatly affected housing land cost aspects. The attached articles shine light on how this has adversely affected the affordable housing marketplace.

npr.org - Housing shortage zoning reform cities

nahb.org - New energy codes mandate blow to housing affordability

There is a growing push to roll back some of the most restrictive and/or costly constraints. It will be an on-going challenge as this runs counter to the zoning and construction rules mindset that has become entrenched over the past fifty plus years. The famous playwright, George Bernard Shaw, wrote this apt line that captures the situation: "Hell, they says, is paved with good intentions".

Uwharrie