Banning foreign home buyers - the New Zealand experiment

In the 1960s, Uruguay created a cooperative housing policy designed to help ease housing shortages especially among lower- and middle-class residents, with cooperative projects bolstered by state loans and technical support. The country now counts over 70,000 co-op-owned homes, making up roughly 5 percent of the housing stock.

In 2024, New Jersey passed a new law that formalized longstanding requirements that municipalities periodically submit affordable housing plans to the state. The law also created a new mediation program for municipalities that want to dispute the state’s calculation of its affordable housing requirements, and the new system has helped cut down on lawsuits that slow down the process of getting new housing approved.

Mandatory inclusionary zoning policies have increased affordable housing stock in many cities across the U.S. In most cases, the policies require developers build 5-10% of new units with rents attainable for low- to median-income people, or pay a fee, which is dedicated to other affordable housing projects. In Redmond, Washington, such policy has resulted in a 42% growth of housing stock since 2010.

The Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity is taking a unique approach to addressing the local affordable housing shortage. The nonprofit develops its own subdivisions and builds homes in batches, mostly constructed by volunteers, who will eventually own the homes, alongside supervisors.

The California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act eliminated single-family zoning so homeowners can split their lots to create rentals and make more housing available statewide.

California residents passed Proposition 11, a redistricting reform ballot initiative, in 2008 and in 2010, voters strengthened that reform by passing a bill to allow an independent commission to redraw state and congressional lines. Fourteen people, who were selected from 30,000 applicants, spent a year holding public hearings across the state to make informed decisions on how to fairly redraw district maps. As a result, more than a dozen Congressional incumbents lost their seats, which was not an intentional outcome but rather what resulted from decisions made based on the public testimony they heard.

While more permanent housing is built to meet demand in the Netherlands, the stopgap answer is to build “tiny homes.” Completely built in a factory, these tiny homes still provide all basic housing amenities. They will be laid out in clusters of four and in larger communities to overcome what some worry will be isolating for many people who have nowhere else to turn. As an interim solution, these tiny homes are perfect-but they aren’t built to last, so the goal is to get residents into more permanent housing.

As second-home owners increase property values and decrease the supply of residences in Gunnison County, its year-round community faces a dwindling affordable housing stock. Nearby, a popular tourist town of Breckenridge in neighboring Summit County has been able to deliver a measurable increase in affordable homes. The Gunnison County Housing Authority is following Summit's goal-oriented, community-driven solution, and turning to residents to form a community plan and vision.

Nashville is trying out creative ways to help residents deal with rising rent. While state policies do not always favor rent control and mixed-income housing units are still years away, several solutions are being implemented right now. Neighborhoods are creating tenant unions and community benefit agreements to ensure that tenants stay up-to-date about housing information. The mayor’s office is also providing financial support to first-time homebuyers.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is developing a comprehensive strategy for affordable housing to help address the challenges of rising property prices and gentrification for the city's poor and minorities. The city is helping influence more inclusive growth patterns through financial incentives like the Barnes Affordable Housing Trust Fund.