National Association of REALTORS\u00ae Chief Economist Lawrence Yun has consistently raised the alarm about the need to build more housing<\/a> to help relieve the inventory crunch being experienced in many parts of the country. While a shortage of skilled labor and rising building costs account for some of the problem, builders and developers often have to overcome resistance from current residents who aren\u2019t keen to welcome new construction in their backyards.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why when global market and opinion research company Ipsos approached Yun with the opportunity to track changes in how Americans view housing, he was curious about how developers could combat resistance to new construction. The results of the study have been published in What the Future, a new quarterly series by Ipsos that asks five influential thinkers in a given industry to come up with a data point they\u2019d like to track over the next five to ten years. Yun wanted to know how new approaches to real estate<\/a> development might turn “not in my backyard” residents into proponents of building additional affordable housing<\/a> in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically it\u2019s the existing residents who have the power through the ballot box and the local land-use regulations. Often it is the NIMBYism that has won out,\u201d Yun told Ipsos. \u201cThe conversation has to be changed. This is one way to have the conversation about building homes, because building is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n The research, which Ipsos conducted in August among 2,031 adults, indicates that developers could indeed change some residents\u2019 minds with fairly minimal investments. When respondents were asked about their support for a hypothetical building development that would include apartments or condos, a restaurant, and a gym, 46 percent favored the development. When they were offered a $200 Amazon gift card as an incentive, 46 percent again supported the development, a modest bump of 3 percentage points over the plan without the incentive. When that gift card amount was increased to $1,000, the percentage of respondents who supported the development increased by 15 percentage points. Adding a park or cuts to existing property taxes also boosted support, while discounts at the new restaurant or membership to the gym decreased support.<\/p>\n \u201cProvided that they get something in return\u2014whether it\u2019s a property tax break or a gift card\u2014people are willing to say, \u2018Yes we need to build more,\u2019\u201d Yun noted, adding that he was surprised at how small incentives could make a measurable impact. \u201cThe reward amount was much lower than I imagined it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Other panelists featured in the publication include urbanist Richard Florida, Madison, Wis. Mayor Paul Soglin, IKEA Head of Market Intelligence Mary Lunghi, and AARP Director of Livability Thought Leadership Rodney Harrell. Some of the questions posed in the report include, \u201cWhat makes a great place to live?\u201d and \u201cAs people grow older, will their homes support their changing needs?\u201d Ipsos plans to release similar reports on the future of healthcare, transportation, and food.\u00a0<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Are resident incentives the key to solving affordable housing?<\/em> (Nov. 2017) GenPop magazine<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Realtors <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_nov\/DN_110317_ipsos_yun.png\")
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