The last five years have seen relatively steady numbers of new housing permits issued in Connecticut — hovering between about 5,000 and 6,500 each year — but experts say this is only a fraction of what’s needed to meet the growing need. Still, officials and experts say there’s more housing needed across the market, especially in buildings that can be home to up to four families and lower-cost starter homes. During the last legislative session, lawmakers passed a bonding package that included about $1 billion toward housing, and some of those programs are in the process of rolling out. Residential construction in Connecticut didn’t bounce back completely after the 2008 housing crisis, experts said. And now the state faces a shortage of construction workers as well as rising costs of land and materials. Many construction projects are also slowed or halted by what experts say are restrictive local zoning ordinances. These types of zoning ordinances have been a politically contentious issue for many years in Connecticut. State and local leaders across the country are in the midst of heated debates about the best ways to increase housing stock as rising rents push many out of their homes.
https://www.theday.com/state/20231225/conn-added-more-housing-in-2023-but-experts-say-its-not-enough/