Housing preferences are shifting dramatically to smaller, multifamily dwellings, creating a dramatic mismatch between housing supply and demand, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute.
From the press release:
"Increased demand for multi-family housing, as well as townhomes, duplexes, three-plexes and four-plexes on small lots will dominate the housing markets of California's four largest Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the report says. This demand will be driven largely by the desires of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1978, and Generation Y, born between 1979 and 1996, both of whom are likely to be living in smaller housing than baby boomers. At least half of the demand will be for locations near transit."
"A recent poll of Southern California voters conducted by FM3, a public opinion research firm, confirmed the trend: nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) would prefer to live in communities that are pedestrian friendly, rather than in conventional residential communities that require driving to stores and other businesses. Sixty-five percent indicated they would rather live in communities with smaller lots and shorter commute times than in communities with larger houses and longer commutes."
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