Industry leaders, policymakers and advocates gathered at the 2024 Housing Leadership Summit in September to discuss the nation’s growing housing affordability crisis. Presented by Housing Affordability Institute and sponsored by Zillow and the Polymeric Exterior Products Association, the summit covered a wide range of topics, from state legislative reforms to Supreme Court rulings that impact the housing market.

Kicking off the summit, a panel discussed housing reforms in Arizona, Colorado and Minnesota, each of which has struggled with a significant housing shortfall. Moderated by Phil Crone of Leading Builders of America, the session brought together state officials and housing advocates, including Eleni Angelides from Colorado’s Office of the Governor and Minnesota State Representative Mike Howard.

The conversation revealed that all three states are experiencing similar challenges: a lack of available homes drives up prices and rents. However, the panelists agreed that the problem is not simply a housing shortage but a housing policy crisis.

Efforts to reform land use laws — many of which were initially stalled in 2023 — gained traction in 2024, bringing significant policy changes across the finish line in both Arizona and Colorado. These reforms include the legalization of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and easing restrictions on multifamily housing in key urban areas. In Minnesota, the Legislature passed a landmark bill exempting comprehensive housing plans from environmental reviews, a move that could pave the way for more housing development.

Despite these victories, panelists admitted that the road to meaningful reform is far from over.

“No state has solved its housing crisis in a single legislative session,” said Angelides, adding that there is still more work to be done in 2025.

Later in the event, Tobias Peter of the American Enterprise Institute and Seva Rodnyansky of Pew Charitable Trusts discussed how small-scale policy changes — such as eliminating parking mandates and relaxing building codes — could pave the way for more affordable housing options. Rodnyansky cited Minneapolis as an example, where reforms introduced in 2009 have led to lower rent inflation and a reduction in homelessness.

Mark Foster from Housing First Minnesota joined Anne Mavity of the Minnesota Housing Partnership and Cristen Incitti of Habitat for Humanity Minnesota to examine the importance of building coalitions for housing reform. This session highlighted how diverse groups — ranging from local government officials to housing advocates — helped push forward key pieces of legislation in Minnesota.

A key takeaway from this discussion was the need for broad, inclusive coalitions.

“Coalitions are big tents, and we need to make them bigger,” said Mavity, emphasizing the importance of growing support from both rural and urban areas.

Brian Hodges of the Pacific Legal Foundation unpacked recent Supreme Court rulings that affect housing costs. The Sheetz v. El Dorado decision, which limits exorbitant municipal fees on new home construction, was seen as a victory for housing affordability by many in the housing industry, as it required municipalities to reassess the burdensome fees placed on new homebuilders.

One of the summit’s final panels, featuring Minnesota State Senators Lindsey Port (D) and Eric Lucero (R), emphasized the importance of keeping housing reform bipartisan. Both senators agreed that while their approaches to housing differ, the issue is too critical to allow partisan politics to impede progress.

“People should have an opportunity to live in the kind of housing that they want to live, in the community that they want to live in,” Port said. “Historically, regulations about zoning and land use have been used to segregate communities and though that might not be as explicit as it was during the days of redlining, it is still one of the main factors behind so many laws as they exist and we can’t pretend that that’s not true.”