Housing has long been a cornerstone of the American dream and the nation’s economy, but a supply–demand imbalance has pushed the U.S. market into crisis, driving up prices and limiting workforce mobility. Addressing this shortage is essential to stabilize the market and sustain economic resilience -- and that is true here in Central Minnesota as it is across the country.

On December 10, 2025 CMBA and the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce co-hosted a community event featuring American Enterprise Institute (AEI) senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center, Tobias Peter, who shared details of AEI's and the U.S. Chamber's "National Playbook for Housing and Economic Growth".

The playbook is backed by location-specific data on affordability, net migration, and homeless displacement pressure. These data allow officials to make informed decisions to reinforce housing stability and spur growth.

For the St. Cloud area, which needs roughly 17,000 new units of housing over the next 10 years, Peter emphasized that simply allowing "light-touch" increased density could potentially erase local housing shortages.

 "What you should be doing is providing builders with the flexibility to set slightly smaller lot sizes," said Peter, who once lived and studied in St. Cloud. "They don’t need to be super tiny lot sizes, but just on average a little bit smaller than what they’ve been allowed.”

Peter said the housing shortages we're seeing are really a failure of public policies. He observed light-touch density brings a couple of key advantages, including smaller, more affordable lots, and smaller, less costly homes. Currently, the lowest cost to build a new house in St. Cloud is about $350,000-$400,000. With smaller minimum lot sizes, Peter estimated that price could drop to $250,000-$300,000.

Peter also pointed to electrical and energy code changes, noting they have added about $30,000 (roughly 10%) to the cost of each new house.

In summary, Peter stated, "Government needs to get out of the way, and allow builders to build more housing." Local leaders are examining AEI's research and considering policy changes to help spur more housing.

Click here to download a copy of AEI and the U.S. Chamber's National Playbook for Housing and Economic Growth.

For more informatioin:  Steve Gottwalt, GMBA Government Affairs, steve@cmbaonline.org, 952-923-5265.