In his first series on affordability for small homes and housing in Greater Washington, Payton Chong outlines how home prices, which are artificially maintained high by large lot size requirements, can be rapidly reduced by lifting “middle housing missing” and limits to reducing minimum lot sizes. “By demanding some level of land under each house, zoning can ensure that only large and expensive homes are built.” Reducing or eliminating minimum lot sizes and detached single-family requirements “can recreate the starter house market,” Chung says.
According to Chung, “We quickly address the needs of middle-income households by allowing small new homes to throw away things like large yards, garages, extra bedrooms, and so many people don’t want to need. Intermediate homes such as duplexes and triplexes are cheaper for builders and therefore may be less for buyers. “These low costs come from splitting the land and materials between multiple units and building smaller units that use less material.”
Chung points out that the cost of a new home cannot be compared to the cost of an older home, which often requires substantial repairs. But building smaller “starter” homes will allow homeownership to reach more American households. “Despite the much larger population, the absolute number of small detached homes built in the United States has fallen by almost 90% over the past 40 years.”
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