NIMBYism is just one of the major rental trends shaping the real estate market according to a panel by the Urban Land Institute’s Spring meeting conference. Our current real estate market, especially in Southern California is defined by overwhelming buyer demand that can’t be met because of a severe lack of inventory. If we look at what’s causing the housing crisis, the answer includes low new home construction numbers, a growing trend of aging in place, and even housing policy. In fact, based on the current rate of new construction, an optimistic projection of the end to the housing crisis is another 6 years out.
One of the ongoing obstacles exacerbating rental and purchase inventory issues is resistance to new construction from current homeowners, also known as NIMYism.
What does NIMBYism mean?
NIMBY stands for “Not in my Backyard”. Developing enough homes to meet supply and demand means more crowded neighborhoods, potential mixed-use residential and income properties, and these major advancement projects proposed are nearly always contested by NIMBYs. No matter how much the improvements are needed by the community, someone is bound to object. Homeowners’ battle cry “not in my backyard” has been a contributing to the housing crisis, and also driving up demand for single-family home rentals. Nationally, rental growth has exceeded pre-pandemic rates across all price points, and detached single-family rent growth according to CoreLogic is up more than 3.5 times the rate of attached rentals this April.
Changing Tides and Times?
There are however some rising groups of people who identify themselves as “YIMBYs”– a pro-development mindset that’s short for “yes in my backyard”– that might eventually be a substantial backlash to initiatives to increase more dense residential real estate building. California YIMBY is one such grassroots organization, working with local lawmakers to pass policy to help end the housing shortage sooner and make the state more equitable, affordable, and livable.
NIMBYism won’t be going away, but perhaps there’s room for improvement. Currently, in California, there is proposed state legislation that calls for zoning changes allowing increased housing density, reductions in environmental regulatory hurdles, and the use of bond funding for affordable housing, with the hope of clearing prior roadblocks to new construction.
