ATLANTA, GA — A new report finds a major shortage of housing across metro Atlanta and Georgia. Chris Denson with the Georgia Public Policy Foundation says Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett combined are short more than 200,000 homes.

Denson says Fulton County tops the list, being short more than 75,000 homes.

“The fact is, we’re not building homes at the same rate we were 20 years ago, and we’ve added two million people since then,” Denson says.

The report finds the Great Recession continues to have a lasting impact on housing availability across the state.

He says families are moving further away from the metro to find a spot they can afford, leading to longer commutes and more traffic.

Denson says the best way to combat this is through local policies.