Source: Insider — 

With the new year is another chance to make housing more affordable for all. 

Right now, it’s harder than ever to buy a home. In 2022, an astronomical rise in mortgage rates coupled with already steep home prices pushed many out of the market altogether. Meanwhile, countless renters saw their monthly payments soar to the point of becoming rent-burdened — a situation where one is putting more than 30% of their household income towards housing expenses. Although rents and home prices started to trend downward in recent weeks, many American households remain cost burdened.

From modernizing zoning policy to make it easier for homebuilders to construct more housing — whether it’s traditional apartments or prefabricated homes — there are things that developers, mortgage lenders, and local governments can do in 2023 to ensure that more people have affordable access to a roof over their heads, according to the following six real estate experts Insider spoke to. 

The solutions are not simple, experts say. There are many hurdles to overcome in conjunction with the political will to make housing more affordable throughout the country in years to come.

Here are five actions that experts say could ease the affordability crisis in 2023.

1. Local governments should address outdated zoning policies and reform them based on today’s needs

It all comes down to zoning, George Raitu, senior economist at Realtor.com, told Insider.

In fact, zoning in many places is about 60 years out of date, he said. 

In order to make housing more affordable, Raitu explained, cities need to be zoned to allow housing to be built at a greater density further away from the city’s downtown. 

Houston has been able to keep its housing affordable in large part because of just this, he said. More housing is built as a result and the supply keeps prices down. Still, there are other problems with that kind of building: a Princeton University study found that this sprawling development father away from the downtown area increased flooding during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. When planning new zoning laws, cities should be asking how do we increase total housing units while minimizing the negative impact on the city. 

“It sounds old fashioned, but movement in the right direction would be a truly innovative task,” Raitu said.  

Raitu is not alone in his thinking. Jeff Tucker, the chief economist at Zillow, also told Insider that the biggest hurdle to affordable housing was “zoning reform.”

It’s a mission that is taking off in California. This year, several new housing laws were introduced to the state’s legislature as a means to alleviate its housing crisis.