Building a single home on each of the more than 300,000 empty lots listed for sale on Zillow in June could shrink the nation’s housing shortage by about 6.3%, according to new research from the listing platform.
Zillow estimates the U.S. is short 4.7 million homes, a deficit it says is the main driver of today’s affordability crisis. Putting one home on every currently listed lot of 5 acres or less would cut that shortage to roughly 4.44 million units.
Empty lots are not a niche segment of the resale market. Zillow counted 300,242 lots for sale in June 2026, representing 17.4% of all for-sale listings on the site. The typical listed lot is 0.57 acres — often enough land for more than one home under more flexible zoning rules — which suggests the 6.3% impact estimate is conservative.
Where the land is
The distribution of listed lots is highly uneven, which matters for builders looking for near-term opportunities:
Most lots by state:
- Florida (42,601)
- Texas (40,907)
- California (18,508)
- North Carolina (14,226)
- Georgia (10,341)
Highest share of listings that are lots:
- North Dakota (45.9%)
- South Dakota (38.7%)
- Alaska (34.6%)
- Nebraska (30.4%)
- New Mexico (30.3%)
Rural markets show the highest concentration, with lots making up 25.3% of all for-sale listings, compared with 13.6% in suburbs and 9% in urban areas.
Land prices also vary sharply by location, which affects whether smaller builders can pencil a project:
- Median rural lot price: about $75,000 per acre
- Median suburban lot price: more than $181,000 per acre
- Median urban lot price: roughly $500,000 per acre
Nationally, the median listed lot price is $79,000 at 0.57 acres, according to Zillow’s state-level table.
Policy and financing hurdles
Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, said in the report that these lots represent “low-hanging fruit” for addressing a shortage that has built up over two decades, but that it is not yet feasible to build on many of them under current rules and cost structures.
Zillow’s analysis points to several friction points familiar to homebuilders:
- Zoning and density limits that keep modest infill or small-scale projects from penciling out.
- Permitting timelines and uncertainty that add cost and risk, especially for small and midsize builders working on scattered lots.
- Financing challenges for buyers and for small-dollar construction projects, particularly in rural markets.
The company highlighted recent federal efforts such as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which aims to modernize zoning, streamline permitting and expand access to lower-cost housing options, including manufactured homes. Zillow framed manufactured housing as a potential tool for turning more of these lots into homes because factory-built units can be produced faster and at lower cost than traditional site-built construction.
Zillow’s focus on rural small-dollar loans
On the financing side, Zillow noted that many consumers who want to buy a lot and build face a fragmented process: finding land, choosing a home type and securing financing typically require separate steps and multiple parties.
This summer, Zillow is participating in a 12-week federal tech sprint with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Opportunity Project, focused on increasing access to small-dollar housing loans in rural communities. The company said it is exploring ways to reduce friction for buyers interested in purchasing and building on an empty lot, which could eventually influence how builders connect with retail buyers in rural and exurban markets.
Why this matters for homebuilders
For builders, the research underscores how much potential supply is already sitting in current listings — especially in rural and lower-cost states where lots make up a third or more of the for-sale market. But converting that inventory into actual homes will depend less on raw land counts and more on whether local zoning, infrastructure and financing structures support small-scale development.
Key takeaways for homebuilding professionals include:
- Scattered-lot and infill strategies: In states like Florida, Texas and North Carolina, the sheer volume of listed lots may support programs aimed at scattered-site spec building, build-for-rent or manufactured home placements where local rules allow.
- Rural focus: With rural markets showing the highest share of lots and lower per-acre prices, smaller and regional builders may find opportunities to pair lower-cost land with manufactured or modular product — if they can navigate lending constraints and appraisals.
- Policy engagement: The gap between theoretical capacity (300,000 lots) and realized housing production highlights how much local land-use policy and permitting reform will shape future pipeline. Builders watching efforts tied to the ROAD to Housing Act or similar state-level reforms may want to identify jurisdictions where rule changes could unlock infill programs.
For now, Zillow’s findings quantify how much buildable land is already visible in the for-sale market, but they also show that closing even a modest share of the nation’s housing deficit will require aligning land supply with workable entitlements, infrastructure and finance.
