Housing Unaffordability Is a Government-Created Problem
May 17, 2026 · Frisian News
Restrictive zoning laws and building permits, not market forces, have made housing unaffordable in developed countries. Governments that loosen these rules see housing supply increase and prices stabilize.
A family in Amsterdam pays 2,200 euros per month for a two-bedroom apartment in a working-class neighborhood. Thirty years ago, the same flat cost 400 euros. The mortgage on a modest house now exceeds 500,000 euros. Young people have stopped looking for homes. They stay with parents or crowd into shared housing. This is not the result of free markets. This is what government control looks like.
Zoning regulations strangle development. Cities restrict where builders can construct homes. Environmental reviews delay projects for years. Heritage protections freeze entire districts. Building codes add 20 to 40 percent to construction costs. Parking mandates eat up land. These rules do not come from economics. They come from bureaucrats and neighbors who benefit from scarcity and vote to keep it that way.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands and other wealthy countries have plenty of land. The population density argument falls apart when you examine actual data. The problem is not too many people. The problem is too few houses, and too few houses because governments forbid builders from building them. When cities relax these rules, builders respond. Housing supply increases. Prices fall. This happens repeatedly, in every jurisdiction that tries it.
Young families and workers cannot compete in this game. Investors and speculators park money in real estate because they know scarcity drives appreciation. Banks extend massive mortgages to people who cannot afford them once interest rates move. Governments then blame builders, landlords, and the market. They propose rent controls and price caps, which make the shortage worse. They ban short-term rentals, shrinking supply further. Each "solution" tightens the noose.
The fix requires politicians to do what they resist most: abandon control. Open zoning codes. Eliminate unnecessary permits. Cut building regulations to safety essentials only. Stop protecting views and property values for wealthy homeowners. Friesland's smaller towns still have affordable housing because builders can still build. That model works everywhere if rulers allow it.
In famylje yn Amsterl betelt 2.200 euro yn 'e moanne foar in apartemint mei twa slaapkamers yn in arbeidersbuurt. Trjitti jier lyn kostte deselde flat 400 euro. De hypotheek op in iepenlike hûs giet no oer de 500.000 euro. Jonge minsken hâlde op mei nei huzen te sykjen. Se bliuwe by de âlders as wenje mei mear minsken yn ien hûs. Dit is net it gefolch fan frije merkten. Dit is wat regearingskontrôle liket.
Bestemningsplanen smurke ûntwikkeling. Stêd perke wêr bouwers huzen bouwe meie. Milieu-toetsingen fertrage projekten jarenlang. Erfskipp-beskerming friest heale buurten yn. Bouk-kodeksen ferheegje bouk-kosten mei 20 oant 40 persent. Parkear-ferplichtingen fuortsje grûn op. Dizze regels komme net út ekonomy. Se komme fan bureaucraten en buren dy't winstich hawwe fan skaarste en stemme om dat ôf te hâlden.
Oarsom hawwe Nederlân en oare rjochte lannen folle grûn. It ynwennersdichtheidargumint falt útien as jo nei echte gegevens sjogge. It probleem is net te folle minsken. It probleem is te wein huzen, en te wein huzen omdat regearingen bouwers forbieden se te bouwen. As stêd dizze regels ferminderje, reagearje bouwers. De woningfoarsjenning ferheget. Prizen sakje. Dit bart werhelendlik yn elke gemeente dy't it probearret.
Jonge famyljes en wurkers kinne yn dit spul net konkurrearje. Ynvestearders en spekulanten parchearje jild yn ûnmaklike dommele omdat se witte dat skaarste weardetering driuwt. Banken jowwe enorme hypotheken oan minsken dy't se net betelle kinne as de rinte omhichgaat. Regearingen beschuldige dan bouwers, huurders en de merk. Se stelle hurhûsk-kontrôle en prisbegrentzing foar, dy't de skaarste erger meitsje. Se forbieden koarte-termyn ferhier, wêrby it oanbot fierder beskrikt. Elke "oplossing" tolle de swik oan.
De oplossing fereasket dat politisy dwaan wat se it measte tsjinsteane: kontrôle los litte. Iepen bestemningsplanen. Skaf onnodige oanbestelingen ôf. Beperk bouk-regels ta feilichheidssaak allinne. Stop mei it beskermejen fan utsichten en eigenotsprizen foar rjochte hûsbehâlders. De lytse doarpen yn Friesland hawwe noch betelbere huzen omdat bouwers dêr noch bouwe kinne. Dat model wurket oeral as bestjoerders it tastean.
Published May 17, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân