About this tool
The Starter Home Policy Explorer lets users test how lowering minimum lot sizes would change the number of new single-family homes and the share that are starter homes. It uses records for new single-family homes built 2015–2024 and simulates reform scenarios by state and county. It helps show which lot-size reforms could add more affordable homes.
- Shows
- Simulated effects of lot-size reform scenarios on new single-family home supply, home value, and starter-home share. A home counts as a starter home if its value is at or below a set multiple of county median household income (4.0 is the main measure; 4.5, 5.0 and 6.0 are also available). Scenarios shift lots down 1, 2 or 3 size categories (3 is the default) or cap the maximum allowed minimum lot size from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet. The tool also shows lot-size distributions and a grid of homes by land-value decile and lot size.
- Places
- Nation, States, Counties
- Years
- Homes built 2015–2024
Questions it answers
- How many more starter homes would my state have if minimum lot sizes were lowered?
- Which lot-size cap, from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet, adds the most homes in my county?
- How does the starter-home share change if lots shrink by one, two or three size categories?
- What does the mix of lot sizes for new homes look like in my state or county?
- How do land value and lot size relate to the type of new homes being built?
Limits
- Covers only new single-family homes built 2015–2024 with a value above $100,000, a lot size of 500 to 21,780 square feet, and a floor area of 500 to 5,000 square feet.
- Results are simulations based on estimated home values and state-level relationships between lot size, home value and floor area, not observed outcomes.
- Starter-home status is measured against county median household income, and results depend on the threshold chosen (4.0, 4.5, 5.0 or 6.0 times income).
- Subdivision-size groups (no minimum, 3+, 5+ and 10+ acres) overlap, so a home can appear in more than one group and the groups should not be added together.