Creating and Preserving Affordable Homeownership Opportunities: Does Inclusionary Zoning Make Sense?

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This paper draws on data from the Montgomery County, Maryland, Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program to analyze the effectiveness of inclusionary zoning as an affordable homeownership strategy. We find that the MPDU program has successfully produced a large number of affordable homeownership units since the program’s inception, particularly condominium and townhome units located in areas where new residential construction has occurred. While MPDU homes did not appreciate as rapidly as other market-rate housing during the housing boom, MPDUs realized significant equity gains and saw smaller price declines during the housing bust.