The Five L's Crushing Housing Affordability

Land, Labor, Laws, Lumber & Lending all control housing costs, but which aspects can best be controlled at the local level.

Oct 08, 2025

The housing crunch is a hot topic in local politics. Many candidates and elected officials are boasting about Community Land Trust and Public Land Banks; however, the housing affordability conversation boils down to five “L’s”: Land, Labor, Laws, Lumber, and Lending. Fix any one of them and you’ll see a dent, but local control cannot fix them all.

A few months ago, I sat in a filled Mill on Etowah room while the Cherokee Board of Realtors rattled off numbers that made my stomach drop. I also read a piece from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. “Homes are averaging $428,000 now,” the speaker announced, and I could hear the collective gasp from the crowd of teachers, firefighters, and a couple of dads who’d just bought their first starter‑home. My family built our place in 2015, and with two boys sprinting toward adulthood, I keep asking myself: What’s the odds that they’ll ever afford a roof of their own here? And what about the fresh‑out‑of‑college couple eyeing their first mortgage, or the single mom juggling two jobs? The answer, in a nutshell, lives in the “Five L’s” that Georgia’s housing nerds have been chewing over for years.

Land – The dirt you can actually build on.
Labor – The hands that swing hammers, lay pipe, and keep the lights on.
Laws – The red‑tape that makes every nail cost a permit.
Lumber – The wood (and everything else) that turns a blueprint into a house.
Lending – The money that lets developers break ground and families sign contracts.

If you’ve never heard of the “Five L’s,” you’re not alone. The term popped up in a 2019 Georgia House study, resurfaced in a 2022 committee hearing, and got a fresh coat of paint in the 2025 Department of Community Affairs push. The point? Each “L” is a lever you can pull—or jam—depending on who’s at the table.

Here are a few videos from The Georgia Public Policy Foundation that cover some of the housing woes in Georgia.

Land – The Plot Twist Nobody Wanted

First up: land. In Cherokee County we’ve got gorgeous rolling hills, but affordable lots? Those are rarer than a quiet Saturday on the highway. Urban sprawl from Atlanta is turning every acre into prime real‑estate, and a chunk of the remaining parcels sits locked behind conservation easements or zoning that says “no residential, thank you.” The National Association of Home Builders flags a national shortage, but locally it’s a 20 % population boom in ten years with housing starts lagging far behind. I’ve watched friends chase $90,000 lots that end up in the mountains of North Georgia—beautiful, but a 50 mile‑long commute to work. Bottom line: More land isn’t the problem; it’s usable land that’s missing.

Labor – Who’s Gonna Build It?

Next, labor. The construction trade is aging faster than a summer peach, and the pipeline of new apprentices looks more like a trickle than a stream. In Ball Ground and Woodstock, builders are practically bidding wars for the same handful of carpenters, electricians, and plumbers. Builder Magazine recently called the labor shortage “the #1 obstacle” to new housing. When we built our home, the crew was stretched thin, stretching the timeline from six months to nine. Multiply that across dozens of developments and you get a whole lot of stalled projects. Fix? Pump money into vocational programs, give high‑school students a taste of the trade before they’re lured into a four‑year degree that doesn’t pay the bills.

Laws – The Red‑Tape

Then there’s laws. Zoning, building codes, permitting—each one starts with good intentions but ends up adding $20,000 ‑ $30,000 to a home’s price tag, according to MarketWatch. In Cherokee County the debate over short‑term rentals is just the tip of the iceberg; density caps and “single‑family‑only” zones keep us from building the multifamily units that could bring prices down for everyone. I’ve sat through county commission meetings where the same folks argue over preserving “character” while the same rules push the next‑generation out the front door. Common‑sense reform means letting developers build a little higher, a little denser, without turning the whole neighborhood into a concrete jungle.

Lumber – The Building Materials

Lumber got a starring role during the pandemic when prices quadrupled. Even now, the market is volatile: tariffs, supply‑chain hiccups, and global demand keep the cost of a single board high enough to make a carpenter wince. For a typical home, lumber alone eats 10‑15 % of the budget. Georgia’s timber industry should be a blessing, but the world’s supply chain is a tangled web. Think of it like baking a cake when the flour price doubles—you still want the cake, but you’ll pay extra for every slice. Solution? Encourage regional timber processing plants, lock in longer‑term contracts, and keep a buffer stock for local builders.

Lending – the $$$

Finally, lending. After the Fed’s rate hikes, mortgages sit at 6.5 %‑7.5 %, and banks are tightening the screws on developer loans. That means fewer new subdivisions, and the buyers who do qualify are forced into higher‑priced homes. Having spent years navigating business and consumer loans, I can tell you the difference between a “qualified” borrower and a “just‑approved” one is the gap between a dream home and a nightmare. We need stable, middle‑ground financing—nothing like the reckless “easy credit” of ’08, but also not the chokehold that freezes new builds.

My UnCommon Sense

Land: Push the county to re‑zone under‑utilized parcels for mixed‑use, and protect the “affordable‑lot” pool with tax incentives.
Labor: Fund trade‑school scholarships, partner with local unions, and launch apprenticeship pipelines straight out of high school.
Laws: Trim the permitting process—one‑stop‑shop, digital submissions, and a 30‑day max review.
Lumber: Incentivize local sawmills, create a regional “wood reserve” for builders, and negotiate longer‑term price contracts.
Lending: Advocate for a state‑backed loan program that offers developers lower‑interest, longer‑term capital, and protects borrowers from predatory spikes.

Which L’s Are Most Controllable Locally?

Among the five levers, Laws and Land are the ones a municipality can influence most directly. Zoning ordinances, density bonuses, and streamlined permitting are squarely in the hands of county commissioners and planning boards; a modest change—like allowing accessory dwelling units or reducing minimum lot sizes—can instantly increase the supply of affordable homes without waiting for state or federal action. Likewise, local governments control how publicly owned parcels are allocated, can earmark tax‑increment financing for affordable‑housing projects, and can negotiate land‑swap deals that free up developable acreage without needing to place land in an inefficient Community Land Trust or the like. While Labor, Lumber, and Lending depend heavily on broader market forces, state‑level policy, and national economic conditions, local officials have the authority—and the political incentive—to reshape the regulatory environment and land‑use framework quickly, making these two “L’s” the most tractable targets for immediate impact.

If we can move the levers that matter most, we’ll keep Cherokee County’s charm and make it possible for our kids to stay put.

What you can do?:

Contact your county commissioner or city councilman (email or phone) and ask about zoning reforms that allow mixed‑use developments and higher density within city limits.
Write a quick note to the Cherokee Board of Realtors urging them to champion vocational‑training incentives for construction trades.
Share this post with neighbors, friends, or anyone who’s frustrated by the housing squeeze—more voices mean louder pressure on the decision‑makers.

If you want to hash this out over coffee (or a cold beer), shoot me an email at dan@thrailkill.us. I’m happy to brainstorm, answer follow‑up questions, or just listen to your own housing‑horror stories.

Have a good one,

Dan