With U.S. housing costs rising faster than incomes, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlined 14 policy options on Nov. 10 to help construction technologies expand housing supply and affordability.
The affordability gap was already broad in 2023: 22.6 million renter households, or 50%, and 20.3 million homeowner households, or 24%, spent more than 30% of income on housing and utilities, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. From 2019 to 2024, the center measured a 48% rise in median single-family home prices, compared with a 22% increase in median income.
GAO counted more than 20,000 U.S. jurisdictions that administer residential building codes and related requirements. Differences in local procedures can add time and expense for builders working across jurisdictions. Options in the report include regional arrangements for recognizing codes on off-site homes, preapproved design libraries, financial incentives and training for inspectors.
The 14 options address regulation, financing, workforce training, public acceptance and government support. The assessment examines technologies including planning software and artificial intelligence, off-site construction, automated lumber cutting, 3D concrete printing and mass timber. GAO presents the policy ideas for lawmakers to consider; they are not formal recommendations.
GAO says shifting some construction work off-site may shorten project schedules, while automation may help builders use lumber more efficiently. Those gains do not guarantee lower prices: builders could retain savings instead of reducing sale prices, and adopting new methods can require substantial upfront spending from builders and consumers. An October Urban Institute brief also said modular firms can have trouble maintaining steady factory work when developments call for different designs.
The assessment leaves the options’ real-world effects untested and offers no projections for additional homes or price changes. GAO said some of the challenges it identified echo those discussed in its 1982 report, Greater Use of Innovative Building Materials and Construction Techniques Could Reduce Housing Costs. The report gives no timetable for policymakers to act.
