- Support is growing among both homeowners and renters for
"modest densification" or "missing middle" housing.
- New housing types, including medium to large apartment
buildings, gain majority support if built near transit and
amenities.
- 70% of respondents believe new housing is key to creating
affordability in their community — and support building it in their
neighborhoods.
SEATTLE, May 31, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- A vast and growing majority of adults support
adding more homes to their neighborhoods in response to the housing
affordability crisis according to new research from Zillow®.
Record-low inventory — triggered by a lost decade of home
construction that caused a shortfall of 1.35 million new homes,
fierce competition spurred by historically low interest rates, and
now inflation — has made it harder for people across the country to
buy or rent a home.
Monthly mortgage costs have nearly doubled during the pandemic,
according to Zillow® research, making homeownership much more
expensive for potential buyers. This housing crunch also extends to
renters, with the typical rent price nationwide reaching more
than $2,000 a month — 25% more
than what they would have expected to pay in the months before the
pandemic.
Zillow's latest analysis has found increased public support for
more density as a way to improve affordability. Support is
strongest for new accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes or
triplexes in residential neighborhoods. Small, medium and large
apartment buildings received majority support if built near transit
and recreation amenities.
"More and more people understand that the key to stopping
runaway housing costs is to build more homes," said Manny Garcia, senior population scientist at
Zillow. "There is majority support among renters and homeowners,
higher and lower wage earners, suburban and urban households, who
all say we need more housing and support it in their
neighborhoods."
Allowing ADUs, duplexes and triplexes in zones previously
limited to single-family houses is often referred to as "modest
densification," creating "missing middle" housing types that fall
between single-family homes and large multifamily apartment
buildings. Relaxing zoning rules to allow more housing supply is
the best way to address the nation's ongoing housing affordability
crisis, according to an independent panel of economists and
housing experts.
Close to two-thirds of respondents to Zillow's most recent
survey are concerned about the cost of housing in their
neighborhood. A large majority, 70%, of all respondents believe
adding duplexes and triplexes would help address this concern by
improving housing affordability.
About 75% of respondents support building even larger housing
types, such as small to medium-sized apartment buildings, to help
create more affordable housing options if built close to frequent
transit, parks and recreation. The chart below breaks down the
support by housing type if built near such amenities:
Agreement on these measures is broad: Respondents with diverse
points of view, backgrounds and experiences all support some level
of modest densification.
Younger residents, renters, people of color and LGBTQ+
respondents were found to most likely support all types of modest
densification efforts in their communities.
Regional impact
The housing affordability landscape has changed nationally,
impacting even regions historically viewed as more affordable. For
policymakers and residents in these markets, finding consensus on
the best path forward is a new challenge.
For years, West Coast and Northeast markets experienced the pain
of expensive housing costs, resulting in relative consensus among
voters and local authorities to change zoning to allow for more
homes. However, the supercharged real estate market during the
pandemic brought the affordability crisis to Sun Belt markets,
where this public policy issue has not historically been front and
center.
A large majority of respondents in these markets believe local
governments should do more to address housing affordability, and
most vote in local elections, but their opinions are mixed on
adding larger buildings in their neighborhoods to address the
crisis.
This survey was the largest ever conducted by Zillow, with more
than 14,000 respondents in 29 metro areas across the country.
About Zillow Group:
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z)
(NASDAQ: ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for
more and more people. As the most visited real estate website in
the United States, Zillow and its
affiliates help people find and get the home they want by
connecting them with digital solutions, great partners, and easier
buying, selling, financing and renting experiences.
Zillow Group's affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include
Zillow®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans℠; Zillow Closing
Services℠; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy®; HotPads®; and
ShowingTime+℠, which includes ShowingTime®, Bridge
Interactive®, and dotloop®.
All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow
affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS
#10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2023 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a
Zillow affiliate.
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SOURCE Zillow