Lancaster , CA

Current Trends:

During this past month of April, the median rental price for a single family home in Lancaster was $1,717 and median sale price for a single family home in the city was $286,200. There were approximately 2,345 homes listed for sale in the city at the end of April, compared with 2,328 in March. During the last month, homes sold within 65 days on the market and received 3 offers per sale on average.

City Housing Supply:

As of the end of 2017, the total count of existing housing units in the city was 52,881. Single family housing units make up the vast majority 71.77% of Lancaster's housing units, 37,954 units total. Multifamily units make up 20 percent, or approximately 10,970. As of last year, the average housing density (people per household) was 3.22, compared with the state average of 2.97. At the end of the period, about 4,877 of housing units in the city were unoccupied, suggesting a vacancy rate of 0 percent.

Regulations & Outlook:

The City has finalized updates to it's residential zoning code that fully comply with State Laws SB 1069 and AB 2299 which allow for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be developed on most single family lots. More commonly referred to as “Granny Flats” and “In-Law Units”, in Lancaster as many as 22,392 homes may now be eligible to add some form of second dwelling unit. These laws are intended by The State to boost opportunities for housing production in cities in an effort to address the growing housing deficits local communities face accross The State. Typically secondary units are constructed by homeowners in backyards, converted garages and basements of single family residences. These new regulations could now allow individual homeowners to play a significant role to increase housing production in Lancaster over the coming years. Consider for example, if just one percent of eligible homeowners in Lancaster built an ADU each year, it would contribute an additional 1,119 units to the city's housing stock over the next five years and create hundreds of new local construction jobs.

Local News & Policy:

The city's latest residential zoning requirements for ADUs can be found on the Lancaster City Page using the link or search bar at the bottom of this report. Recently More information on the latest local policies and requirements for ADUs will be available as they are passed. Check back each month for the latest changes in Lancaster.

Get Involved:

For homeowners and local developers who are interested in getting involved in the ADU movement locally in Lancaster, use Housable to get insights about the ADU housing development potential of specific properties. Housable provides zoning, permitting, estimation and design tools, many of them free of charge, to help homeowners at any step plan, permit and build their ADU projects. Use property design and calculation tools any time, get low cost insights about the ADU potetnial of your property and connect with local professionals who can help with the process when you're ready to get started. Stay up to date with the latest local trends in housing production and join the ADU movement to create more housing in Lancaster, one garage, basement, or backyard at a time.

Housing construction peaked in 2005 when the City issued 2,799 permits for housing units. Reflecting the housing downturn statewide and nationwide, permit issuance declined greatly since 2007. The City has averaged 272 annual housing permits over the last five years (see Figure C'1). Historically, over the last 33 years since 1980, the City has averaged 792 permits for housing units per year.