Several articles in The Columbian over the past year talk about new housing options that create more affordable homes. Often mentioned are cottage housing developments. People needing more affordable home options are not the benefactors from cottage housing development.
The real beneficiaries are land developers, homebuilders, and real estate agents. The developer of a cottage housing project can build up to double the number of homes on a parcel of land than the current zoning would otherwise allow. An extreme example is the development of 24 cottages where the prices are going to range from $589,000 to $629,000 (“ ‘Posh Pockets’ cottage community coming soon to Clark County,” The Columbian, May 17, 2022).
This is $80,000 to $120,000 higher than the current median home price in Clark County. Hardly affordable, yet extremely profitable considering that parcel under current residential zoning would have allowed just 12 regular homes on 7,500-square-foot lots. Who is the winner here?
