Missing Housing: Characteristics of Underutilized Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Bowman Cutter  

Los Angeles, like many other large cities in America, is experiencing a housing crisis. The average price of a home in LA is more than twice the national average, and the average rental property in LA is $400,000 more expensive than the national average. Stringent zoning and regulatory rules are often blamed for the crisis. However, stories and anecdotes suggest that much of the multifamily housing stock has fewer units than legally allowed. We compile and analyze a dataset of all multifamily-eligible properties in the City of Los Angeles and examine their characteristics and how those differ from properties that do build to the legal maximum number of units. We find that in total, the City of Los Angeles has a gap of about 370,000 underutilized units. These are concentrated in properties that are over 50 years old. We find some but limited evidence that regulatory limits, particularly minimum parking standards, inhibit building to the legal maximums. Our research shows that a core strategy for improving the Los Angeles area housing shortage are policies to facilitate older properties redeveloping or adding units.