Restrictions on residential development make housing suppliers less responsive to changes in demand. As a result, the housing market is more prone to cycles of rising and falling prices. In a market with development controls, an increase in demand causes a large increase in price because the supply side of the market is hobbled in its response. The stricter the controls, the steeper the supply curve, and the larger the short-run increase in price. If the restrictions are eventually relaxed to accommodate higher demand, the supply side of the market responds, leading to an increase in quantity and a drop in prices. In Britain, development restrictions are more severe than they are in the United States, and this partly explains why Britain has more frequent housing booms and busts.