Headquartered in San Francisco PacassoTech-focused Real Estate Market released a report Monday identifying the top U.S. metro areas that are embracing new development and “creating a more diverse and abundant housing supply.”
The report takes an in-depth look at the Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) movement, which involves numerous strategies to improve housing supply and lower the cost of living for homeowners and renters.
As Pacasso explains, these strategies can include collaboration between local governments and residents to repurpose neighborhoods and allow for greater density. Many cities across the country are achieving this through co-ownership models and the creation of more accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
“When it comes to solving the housing crisis, we need a two-fold approach: more construction and more efficient use of existing housing stock,” Pacaso co-founder and CEO Austin Allison, 2022 house line the technology trendsetters said in the report.
“Communities across the country are increasingly receptive to innovative solutions, including higher density and co-ownership models, to maximize the functionality of available homes. Embracing these strategies will lead to more choice for homebuyers and better access to Make use of our limited resources.
According to recent research real estate agent networkCurrently, the national housing gap is 2.5 million units. Other estimates are much higher.
Pacasso said various types of “municipal zoning and building regulations” exacerbate these shortages [that] New housing has historically been restricted.
Partner with a data research company urban visionPacasso analyzed zip codes across the country for two five-year periods: 2008 to 2012 and 2018 to 2022. Then the zip code is classified as “YIMBY friendly” in terms of home prices.”
The metro areas with the highest percentage of ZIP codes that meet YIMBY-friendly criteria are led by Washington, D.C. (71.2%) and Chicago (54.3%).
In and around the capital, cities are adopting land-use policies that allow for more types of housing, the report notes. In northern Virginia, for example, Arlington County passed a “missing middle” ordinance last year that allows for the construction of up to six units in an area previously reserved for single-family detached homes.
In Chicago, only 7% of ZIP codes meet the report’s requirements for high housing need, but these areas are “strongly correlated” with other YIMBY criteria. The report noted that the city revised an ordinance in 2021 to encourage the development of affordable housing.
Washington, D.C., and Chicago are the only major metropolitan areas in the United States where more than half of the ZIP codes meet the YIMBY standard. But others in the top 10 have at least a quarter of their postal codes eligible. These include Austin; Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; San Antonio; Philadelphia; New York City; Kansas City; and Salt Lake City.
“It’s great to see examples of places that are advancing pro-housing policies so that activists, elected officials and agencies can emulate their success in more places,” said Jessamyn Garner, communications director for the affordable housing advocacy group. action duelPacasso reported.
“In the coming years, it will be critical to implement these policies to the fullest extent possible to lower home prices in these communities and beyond.”
