 Low-rise multifamily and housing supply: A case study of seattleTobias Peter, Edward Pinto and Joseph Tracy Journal of Housing Economics, 2025, vol. 69, issue C Abstract: We provide an in-depth case study of land use reforms in Seattle to highlight how redevelopment of aging single-family housing to townhomes can lead to a significant increase in market-rate housing that promotes affordability. The key is to allow market forces to use by-right zoning to drive small-scale development, when also supported by clear and simplified regulatory frameworks. We have dubbed this the Housing Abundance Success Sequence, which is supported by this study along with over two dozen others. In Seattle, we document that such policies lead to a sustained 2.5 % per year increase in the housing stock, with a range of about 1–2.5 % in other case studies. Importantly, this approach requires no government subsidies and leads to higher local tax revenues. Our findings underscore the potential of thoughtful land use reforms to create more inclusive, affordable, and resilient housing markets, while also demonstrating that inclusionary zoning mandates do not work and can stop market-rate developers in their tracks. Keywords: Zoning; Land use; Regulations; Affordability; Housing supply; Housing density (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:69:y:2025:i:c:s1051137725000415 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhe.2025.102082 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Housing Economics is currently edited by H. O. Pollakowski More articles in Journal of Housing Economics from Elsevier |
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