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Most adults support housing densification in their neighborhood

by Emily Marek

A majority of adults — more than 80% — would support building more homes in their neighborhood in order to boost housing affordability, according to a new report from Zillow. These new homes are envisioned as “missing middle housing,” such as medium and large apartment buildings.

Housing densification would help to address the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. — record-low inventory levels and heavy competition for well-priced homes have made it harder for many people to find housing, whether they’re buying or renting. According to Zillow, monthly mortgage costs have nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic while the average rent payment has gone up by 25%.

“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.”

But many cities don’t allow the kind of middle housing needed to supplement the gaps in housing, such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes and triplexes. However, many cities are currently rezoning to allow for these new types of housing.

Per Zillow’s report, 75% of respondents are concerned about the lack of housing in their neighborhood and would support the addition of duplexes and triplexes. Furthermore, about 75% would support even larger housing types in their area.

The survey found that young residents, renters, people of color and LGBTQ+ people were most likely to support all types of housing densification mentioned in the report if it would help address the housing crisis.

A majority of respondents also said they believe their local government should do more to address local housing affordability.

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