More than 300,000 empty lots could ease US housing shortage, Zillow says

More than 300,000 empty lots listed for sale could help reduce America’s housing shortage, according to new research from Zillow.

The real estate company said 300,242 empty lots of five acres or fewer were listed for sale on Zillow in June, accounting for 17.4% of all for-sale listings.

Building one home on each lot would reduce the estimated national housing deficit from 4.7 million homes to about 4.44 million, a decline of 6.3%, Zillow said.

The typical lot for sale is 0.57 acres and has a median price of $79,000. Zillow said many of the parcels may be large enough to support more than one home, making its estimate conservative.

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“The more than 300,000 lots currently listed for sale represent the lowest-hanging fruit in addressing a housing shortage that’s two decades in the making,” Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng said.

Ng said loosening zoning rules, streamlining permitting and expanding access to financing could reduce the cost and uncertainty associated with construction.

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Florida had the most empty lots listed for sale, with 42,601, followed by Texas with 40,907, California with 18,508, North Carolina with 14,226 and Georgia with 10,334.

Empty lots made up the largest share of for-sale listings in North Dakota, at 45.9%, followed by South Dakota at 38.7% and Alaska at 34.6%.

Rural markets had the highest concentration of empty lots, accounting for 25.3% of listings, compared with 13.6% in suburban areas and 9% in urban markets.

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Rural lots were also the least expensive on a per-acre basis, with a median of about $75,000 per acre. That compares with more than $181,000 per acre in suburban areas and approximately $500,000 per acre in urban areas.

Zillow said expanding access to manufactured homes could also help address the shortage because they can be built faster and at a lower cost than traditional site-built homes.

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The company is participating in a 12-week federal technology initiative with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Opportunity Project focused on increasing access to small-dollar housing loans in rural communities and reducing barriers for buyers interested in purchasing and building on empty lots.