Today’s housing industry faces a crisis of alarming proportions. Too many people cannot afford new homes under current housing delivery methods. Although overly restrictive building codes and land use regulations often prevent the use of proven, cost-saving innovations, many communities have begun re-evaluation their regulations in an attempt to find solutions to affordable housing. HUD’s Joint Venture for Affordable Housing is encouraging the kind of understanding and cooperation between different interest groups that will result in looking at the needs of today. In addition to this sense of cooperation between developers, builders, and local communities, many are finding that land development and construction methods can be modified to increase value and lower costs.

This guide to cost-saving techniques contains methods to reduce costs in land development, design, and most phases of direct construction, labor, and material. It is not intended to be a complete “how to” manual, but rather a compilation of brief descriptions of proven techniques that are being used successfully in some parts of the country. Chapter 14 contains a listing of manuals that cover specific subjects in more depth.