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Market Analysis: A Zoning Necessity <br />8y Tony Smith, AicP, and Steve Friedman, ,41cP <br /> <br />Market and economic feasibility analysis are not traditionally associated with the devel- ' <br />opment ofzonin§ re§ulations. <br /> <br />aspirations. The growing popularity of design <br />guidelines, form-based codes, and extensive <br /> <br />MARKET DEMAND ANO ZONING FOR <br />RESIDENTIAL <br />A core principle of sound zoning for residen- <br />tial is that it should allow for a houaing stock <br />that will accommodate the changing popula- <br />tion of a cdmmuniW. This requires a basic <br />understanding of the demographic and buyer <br />preference trends that are the fundamental <br />drivers of residenflal building activitY, and <br /> <br /> DEMOGRAPHIC AND BUYER PREFERENCE <br /> TRENDS . <br /> <br /> that demand for the conventional single- <br /> family detached house that has dominated <br /> residential markets for decades may <br /> decrease relative to muitifamily and single- <br /> <br />~ ~.~? ~,y% ~ ;~:~-,.~: ;t.,,~:~; ::, ~:~-~?- <br /> <br /> The aging of America. In the t99os, the <br />cohorts (a group of individuals having a stalls- <br /> <br />study) between Ihe a§es of 45 and 54--~argely <br />the baby boomers--were the fastest growing. <br />As "boomers" pass into and beyond these <br />cohorts they join the ranks of the <br />nesters--householdS with adult children tiring <br /> <br />ll~is trend is linked to an increasing diversity of <br />household ~ypes and confi~,J~dons. In zoo4, <br />about 23 percent of households c~ntained a ~vo- <br />parent family, with one or more ~ildren under the <br />age of t8 living at home. l"nis proportion has <br />declined steadily from aPout ~.5 percent in :p6z. <br /> <br />the young adult children of the baPy boomers, <br /> <br /> REAL ESTATE PROOUCT <br /> RLSPONSE <br /> Codective~y. the t~ends <br /> suggest that the arche- <br /> Wpa[ suburban c~mmunib/ <br /> with predominantly single- <br /> family detached housing <br /> is becoming tesa reflec- <br /> tive of the national popu- <br /> lation and housing <br /> demand patterns. The real <br /> estate indust~/responded <br /> by increasing the supoly <br /> and variety of multifamily <br /> and attached housing <br /> products, including: <br /> Condominium~. In <br />many regions around the count~, demand for <br />condominiums is driven largely by the aging <br /> <br />units that are smaller, amenity-rich, and with- <br />out the maintenance responsibilities of single- <br />family detached houses. Some cohorts favor <br />condominium [ivin§ because of busy lifestyles <br /> <br />accdunted for by condomlmums has doubled <br /> <br />ZONINGPRACTiCE Z.O6 <br /> <br /> <br />