You may remember those days in the early 2000s when every suburb had a new McMansion-filled neighborhood on the block. 

Now researchers with the University of Illinois are suggesting strict zoning laws that catered to the development of large, single-family homes, ended up creating communities at greater risk of experiencing foreclosures.

According to a study published in the journal Housing Policy Debate, communities that zoned too strictly for high-end developments steered homebuyers into the most expensive properties because they neglected to build a wider spectrum of properties at different price-points.

A scientific publication, known as Phys.org, has more on the study, which was produced by Arnab Chakraborty with the University of Illinois and a team of researchers. 

Chakraborty is quoted by Phys.org as saying:

“The general tendencies of local governments is to want to build more housing that brings tax revenues and (commercial) development,” he said.

“But they might go too far. If you over-expose your development capacity in a specific market segment such as higher-price single-family housing, then people who would otherwise buy cheaper housing in your community have little choice but to spend too much or move elsewhere.”