It looks as if next month’s election will be dominated by the issue of “affordability,” as 2024 was. While voters are understandably frustrated with D.C. politicians who have made affordability worse with tariffs and a war of choice in the Persian Gulf, the surprising truth is that our legislators in Concord did an excellent job in the last two years addressing New Hampshire voters’ concerns about the cost of living.
Over the past three years, Granite Staters have repeatedly cited housing as their number-one or number-two most important issue, and the legislature and the governor responded with over 20 bills aimed at increasing the availability of housing and reducing its cost. These bills reduced unnecessary regulations and processes that drove up the cost of building, forbade people from sharing housing or made using existing infrastructure for housing too difficult.
Even though not all these laws have taken effect yet, we’re already seeing an impact. The number of building permits for new housing in New Hampshire increased 22% so far in 2026 on an average monthly basis compared to the same period in 2025. Meanwhile, national permitting fell by 0.7% over the same timeframe.
I did some back-of-the-envelope math based on the meticulous research scholars have done on Auckland, New Zealand, where housing reform boosted supply and brought down costs. Auckland’s reforms nearly doubled the permitting rate and reduced rents by 23%. Already, then, the impact of this session’s reforms has been about a quarter of Auckland’s and could thus be expected to lower rents by about 5-6%, relative to the nation. That’s a real impact in an era when housing costs have gone relentlessly upward in the Northeast.
Legislative leadership deserves particular credit for this success. They helped shepherd bills through the process, and the House set up a special Housing Committee that took a constructive approach to the problem.
Housing makes up more than a third of the Consumer Price Index and is the most important determinant of differences in cost of living between states and cities, so it makes sense the legislature focused so much on that issue. But they didn’t stop there.
Our legislators also focused on reducing the cost of childcare by reducing red tape from out-of-date zoning regulations with House Bill 1195. This bill will let anyone open a home-based daycare without special hearings, site plan review or discretionary approvals from the town. They still have to be licensed by the state and follow safety regulations. The bill also eases the construction of childcare centers in areas where other commercial uses are allowed.
By reducing childcare operators’ cost of doing business, the legislature is improving our business climate but also making childcare more affordable to the consumer. Small businesses operate on thin margins, and they pass on to consumers the regulatory costs they have to pay, so reducing regulation reduces costs.
Another pocketbook issue the legislature addressed is car inspections. The cost of annual inspections was particularly burdensome for lower-income households, and everyone will benefit from having one less hassle in their lives. Getting rid of mandatory inspections is another way the legislature and the governor made life more affordable for Granite Staters.
All of these reforms were bipartisan. There were factions in both parties that resisted the affordability agenda, and readers who are interested can easily find information on how their representatives and senators stand on affordability issues. But it’s good to know that in an era when the federal government looks dysfunctional, and there’s so much acrimonious partisanship in the air, we’re fortunate enough to live in a state where most of our legislators are listening to voters and trying to solve the most important problems we face.
Jason Sorens, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He lives in Amherst.