Everyone agrees we need more houses for sale. No one agrees on how to make that happen.
For years, the not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) mentality has put a roadblock on countless new construction projects designed to increase population density throughout the U.S. But with more and more Americans struggling to find a home they can afford, that may have to change.
According to a recent survey by brokerage Redfin, nearly one in five respondents are in favor of policies that would promote building new local housing. The rationale is easy to understand: More homes means enough supply to meet buyer demand, which would, in turn, lower home prices (without requiring a market crash) and increase affordability for everybody. And in a housing market where home prices and mortgage payments are sky-high, the desire for cheaper alternatives has reached epic proportions.
But while most Americans agree that more homes + lower price tags = good, most don’t want their neighborhood to be part of the equation. According to the survey, only a third of those who agree the housing market is in desperate need of more inventory would welcome a new apartment complex in their neck of the woods. The reason? They like their peace and quiet, and don’t want that to change — and as a result, many U.S. neighborhoods are in a new construction stalemate.
“Personal preferences and ideas about the ‘perfect neighborhood’ tend to overshadow what people know to be true and beneficial about dense housing,” Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, recently told me.
Where do we go from here?
Fairweather says it's on state and federal governments to break the impasse.
“The only way out of the NIMBY spiral is through bipartisan legislation,” she says.
Fortunately, the tide appears to be changing; not quickly, but at least steadily. Over the past few years, state governments have started to rethink traditional land zoning regulations.
In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that would increase the production of affordable housing while making it easier for property owners to build higher-density buildings, including townhomes and duplexes, in an effort to ease the state’s housing deficit. And earlier this year, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a law revising zoning laws to allow more accessory dwelling units (AKA ADUs or “mother-in-law suites”) to be built on single-family plots.
“These are the policies every state needs to dig us out of this inventory and affordability crisis,” Fairweather tells me.
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario