Another #MissingMiddleHousing in action example. Townhouses built just before Raleigh upzoned are $1M-$1.3M apiece. Legalizing flats next door is #MakingRoom for smaller new homes at 1/3 the price.

Over in Arlington VA, a map of the first few #MissingMiddleHousing permit applications shows *every single one so far* is in a wealthy area, and most are in areas with transit options. Shows that the concern-trolling over gentrification and traffic were red herrings. https://www.arlnow.com/2023/07/06/new-more-than-a-dozen-missing-middle-permit-applications-are-in-the-works-so-far/

One thing I’d really like to hear explicitly articulated is why people living in this building are less worthy members of our society when it’s a 6-plex (as in the picture) compared to when it was a 1-plex. Looking at you @AWCities. #MissingMiddleHousing #Homes4WA

Heartened by state level successes on #MissingMiddleHousing, but not sure where to start?
AARP has you covered with a new paint-by-numbers Model Act that even newbie state legislators can use to abolish single-family-only zoning in their state:
https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/housing/info-2023/missing-middle-housing-model-act-state-legislation-guide.html

NAACP general counsel to Arlington County board: reduced #MissingMiddleHousing density "would prevent Black and other people of color from moving into Arlington… hinder the beneficial effects of increasing housing density, disproportionately put affordable housing out of the reach of Arlingtonians of color, & prevent… achieving its stated goal of reversing the impact of decades of segregationist housing policy" https://mcusercontent.com/6d686c29cfe3c78466c87a78a/files/179d2ce6-36ac-3e69-f109-b92637367afc/Arlington_Support_Letter_3_14_23.pdf

#MissingMiddleHousing has a significant operational cost advantage. Per 2021 US Census RHFS, avg monthly operational expenses per unit for 50+ unit properties were $502 and for 1-unit properties $517 -- substantially higher than the $412 for 2-4 unit buildings
https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/rhfs/#/?s_tableName=TABLE4&s_filterGroup1=5&s_type=2&s_byGroup1=0

Legalizing #MissingMiddleHousing does lower prices without threatening builders' profits - because they can make it up on volume. "Thompson... is seeing the same profit margins as before but on more revenue, resulting in a healthier bottom line" https://www.builderonline.com/land/planning/how-eliminating-single-family-only-zoning-will-impact-builders-and-developers_o

An additional benefit to #MissingMiddleHousing: its costs can slide down The Learning Curve, in a way that larger buildings can't.
@drvolts thread+pod on the learning curve: https://journa.host/@drvolts/109683417695752497

#HousingCrisis
#MissingMiddleHousing
#waleg #walex
#LetsGo
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RT @ramialkabra
I had to stop by Safeway last night on my way home. It was 11pm. As you can imagine the parking lot was EMPTY. 1/4 https://twitter.com/yeshomes4wa/status/1611852428013457410
https://twitter.com/ramialkabra/status/1612161632905625602

AUT asserts that $800K houses will be flipped into $2.5M plexes. That's not. how. this. works.

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RT @paytonchung
These brand-new market-rate condos are affordable at 110% of AMI - solidly middle-class.
The houses on either side are $1M.
(Re: that Seattle Times cartoon plying myths about #MissingMiddleHousing) https://twitter.com/justupthepike/status/1426626561336348674
https://twitter.com/paytonchung/status/1487820592476794889

"in the South" can also be replaced with "everywhere" because it's the same story all over the country.
#HousingCrisis
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RT @SouthernUrb
NOW AVAILIBLE | Our entire 4-part deep dive on the state of #MissingMiddleHousing in the South.

Part 1 explains why small & affordable multi-family homes have disappeared:
https://southernurbanism.org/blog/missing-middle-part-one
https://twitter.com/SouthernUrb/status/1602008024276672515

At a conference where Calthorpe dismisses #MissingMiddleHousing: "mom & pop could be lovely but is not going to work."
Ignores that millions of small developers, aka flippers, already exist throughout suburbs.

#MissingMiddleHousing directly cuts land costs (25-30% of housing prices), and indirectly cuts hard costs 🧱👷‍♀️🚧 - and, if it's easier, soft costs 👩‍⚖️👩‍💻🗞️.

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RT @paytonchung
RSM's competitor Craftsman puts it differently: a wooden building that cost $10,000 to build in 1960 would cost $110,200 to build today. Here's their construction cost escalation figure, divided by CPI:
https://twitter.com/paytonchung/status/1287978244185235456

How can this continue? #MissingMiddleHousing zoning reforms *lowered the marginal cost of production,* making it possible to deliver new homes at lower price points, where there's still unfulfilled demand. Like:

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RT @paytonchung
In a growing market, "replacement costs" (marginal cost of production) set a ceiling on prices.
When a cheap new car hit the market in India, used car prices dropped to match its price.
https://trak.in/tags/…
https://twitter.com/paytonchung/status/1283412043186556928

Multifamily construction rose 10X, mostly within urban core. 74% of add'l units in 2-3 story #MissingMiddleHousing "mixed housing" zones; only 26% in the 5-story midrise apt zone. Rent growth has plunged.
Comp plan appeal board 2X'd housing needs forecast http://www.aupihp.govt.nz/procedures/

Even "big city" DC's laws define 👉15👈 different zoning districts where a 4500+ sq ft mansion is👌
…but the exact same quantity of house, in three "quintessentially DC!" #MissingMiddleHousing rowhouses? 🚫🚫🚫

When Raleigh implemented citywide #MissingMiddleHousing zoning, new houses in one of America's fastest gentrifying Census tracts changed: New 🏠 prices fell from $600-700s to $400-500s.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/27/upshot/diversity-housing-maps-raleigh-gentrification.html

What's missing is the sweet spot for costs: #MissingMiddleHousing. Lots less land than SFH, lots less labor/materials than high-rise (or even mid-rise). Brand-new, close-in MMH is already affordable to median income households, without subsidy (2018)