Commentary: Minimum Lot Sizes Drive Up Housing Costs

In a piece for Strong Towns, Ben Abramson explains why minimum lot size requirements often stifle new housing development and lead to higher housing costs and a dearth of affordable housing for smaller households.

Advocates for incremental development suggest that cities should adjust their zoning codes to allow for more flexible, affordable development that makes use of existing infrastructure to increase the housing supply, eliminating expensive approval processes whose costs get passed on to buyers. “Enabling a fee-simple transaction lets buyers own the dirt under their property and gives underwriters greater confidence in its viability. The more ways your community can enable builders to develop housing options with fee-simple sales, the faster they can address North America’s glaring housing shortage.” 

Portland, Oregon developer Neil Heller says incremental development, such as building multiple housing units or subdivided homes on single-family zoned lots, doesn’t bring about the massive changes some people fear. “Yes, you do notice change, but it's almost imperceptible … the average person just going down the street would probably not even notice what's going on in the backyard.”

Some cities, such as Austin and Houston, have reduced minimum lot sizes as part of zoning reforms to both encourage denser, more walkable development and boost the housing supply.