Silver Bullet or Trojan Horse? The Effects of Inclusionary Zoning on Local Housing Markets 

Publication Date: June 2008

Publisher: Furman Center for Real Estate

Author(s): Jenny Schuetz; Vicki Been; Rachel Meltzer

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: affordable housing; housing prices; inclusionary zoning

Type: Working Paper

Abstract:

Many local governments are adopting inclusionary zoning (IZ) as a means of producing affordable housing without direct public subsidies. In this paper, we use panel data on IZ in the San Francisco metropolitan area and Suburban Boston to analyze how much affordable housing the programs produce and how IZ affects the prices and production of market-rate housing. The amount of affordable housing produced under IZ has been modest and depends primarily on how long IZ has been in place. Results from Suburban Boston suggest that IZ has contributed to increased housing prices and lower rates of production during periods of regional house price appreciation. In the San Francisco area, IZ also appears to increase housing prices in times of regional price appreciation but depresses prices during cooler regional markets. There is no evidence of a statistically significant effect of IZ on new housing development in the Bay Area.