Could Self-Driving Cars Help Lower Housing Costs?
Self-driving cars are supposed to bring us numerous benefits, such every bit fewer accidents, less traffic, and more personal time. But could they besides lower real estate prices in places like Southern California and San Francisco, where city officials are grappling with skyrocketing housing costs?
Autonomous vehicles will allow developers to devote less space and resource to driveways and garages, according to a report by San Diego real manor analyst Gary London. Garages could so be converted into living spaces, a separate report from John Burns Existent Estate Consulting said.
London estimates that the cost of housing structure could be cutting past 20 to 25 pct if parking is no longer necessary and residents don't require a infinite to park a personal auto. Burns predicts that idle garages volition undergo "complete overhauls" and exist remodeled into "operation living infinite," creating a boon for the home repair and remodel industry.
At that place are as well numerous incentives for cities to ease parking requirements for new construction projects in loftier-density and expensive areas such as San Diego and San Francisco. But I'g not convinced people volition exist willing to give up their garages or spots in California and other locations.
The Loftier Price of Parking
Parking spaces are an expensive suggestion for builders, and they're ordinarily required by local regulations. A report last month by the San Diego Housing Commission estimated that the cost of a single parking spot in a new flat building in the city costs $10,000 at ground level, $30,000 for higher up ground, and $70,000 for surreptitious parking.
Simply urban center officials are starting to alter their views on parking policies every bit it relates to building and developers are responding. For example, in San Francisco a builder teamed with Uber and the city to offering residents a $100-a-calendar month credit to utilize on the ride-sharing company's services and public transportation if they gave upwardly a parking infinite.
Autonomous vehicles will also lead to less demand for on-street parking, London says. According to Burns, "wide streets, massive driveways, and two-/three-car garages [will be] a thing of the by." This could mean more space for bicycles and pedestrians, which is appealing to cities and its residents.
But it could also just make way for bigger, even more expensive homes, especially in San Francisco. Turn that garage infinite into a third or quaternary bedchamber and charge an extra $1 million, or squeeze some other high-ascension condo into a lot previously reserved for parking. More existent manor doesn't mean cheaper real manor.
London besides concedes that many people nonetheless consider cars a status symbol. He notes that "developers provide parking in buildings today not only because they have to (current zoning laws) but because they desire to (it's a marketing thing)."
That's true in expensive San Diego but also in Detroit and other places where housing affordability isn't as large of an upshot. Sure, AVs will modify things in means nosotros tin't fifty-fifty imagine, but these studies and other ignore a couple of facts.
I, the auto industry sold a record 17.6 one thousand thousand new vehicles in the U.s. last year, and that was on height of 17.5 meg in 2022. Two, cars are lasting longer, on average 11.5 years, which ways nosotros'll have legacy human being-piloted vehicles on the road for decades to come—and people volition need places to park and store them.
Plus, many people use their garage more for storage than parking a automobile. (Hand raised here.) And I doubt that's going to change even with autonomous vehicles.
About Doug Newcomb
Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/news/17854/could-self-driving-cars-help-lower-housing-costs
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