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2 thoughts on “Q: Do inclusionary housing requirements make housing prices go up for everyone else?”
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Q: Do inclusionary housing requirements make housing prices go up for everyone else?
A: No, they do not. Market-rate developers are business people. They charge as much as the market will bear. When housing prices go up . . .
As with most things, the devils (and the angels) are in the details. Inclusionary Zoning can be implemented to compensate developers for the lost-profit (and higher regulatory costs) associated with mandatory affordable units — or not.
Typically, inclusionary zoning (IZ) requirements kick in on developments that exceed a certain number of units. If the IZ requirements are onerous and they are applied to projects that exceed 10 units, one might find that suddenly there are more projects for 9 units. If the nature of the IZ requirements causes developers to restrict the number of units that they build, the end result might be counter-productive. So, pay attention to the details of the IZ program and do the math.
Rick, Absolutely the details of a policy are important. Regarding whether they tend to slow development, there is less of that than you might think (see https://www.shelterforce.org/article/4169/do_inclusionary_zoning_requirements_halt_development/, the companion to the piece above) but it certainly could happen if policies were made without care.