Los Angeles will move to create first-time homebuyer housing by selling or transferring 12 city-owned vacant parcels to private developers, aiming new for-sale homes at households earning 80%–150% of the area median income (AMI).
The initiative, reported by Urbanize LA, directs the Los Angeles Housing Department to dispose of the sites and guide mid-density projects that fit surrounding neighborhoods.
Named ‘Small Lots, Big Impacts’, the program is a collaboration with UCLA’s cityLAB. Target parcels are in Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, South LA, and other locations, including corner lots, sites between low-rise blocks, and parcels near commercial corridors. All 12 sites will be priced in line with local market conditions.
Sale proceeds will be reinvested into down-payment and purchase-assistance programs for low- and moderate-income buyers, creating a funding loop that supports additional first-time purchasers.
Once the City Council authorizes the plan, the Housing Department will issue a developer Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Selected teams would receive site transfers, and final dispositions would return to the City Council for approval.
Councilmember Nithya Raman (District 4), who introduced the plan, called the approach “an innovative solution” that converts long-idle, sub-0.25-acre city parcels into ownership opportunities.
The city has historically focused on larger sites due to fiscal and administrative limits; ‘Small Lots, Big Impacts’ tests whether small lots can reliably deliver first-time homebuyer housing at neighborhood scale.
Housing experts say the effort could become a model for mid-density infill if it succeeds. By activating scattered, long-vacant land and channeling revenues back into buyer aid, the city aims to expand ownership options for middle-income households while adding context-sensitive homes. If implemented as designed, ‘Small Lots, Big Impacts’ would diversify the for-sale pipeline and demonstrate how public land can accelerate first-time homebuyer housing across Los Angeles.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
