Through these steps, the community becomes involved in the decision-making process. It is very likely, however, that most proposed sites will be more suitable for considerably fewer than 200 units because of neighborhood compatibility issues and infrastructure demands. When the county has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with a city or town, the terms of the agreement will apply. Receiving sites will typically be low to very low density with large lots, one-half acre or more in size. The fewer the lots that a developer plats on a site, the more he or she needs to charge to get the same return on the initial investment.
People buying larger, more expensive lots are more likely to want larger, more expensive homes.
In addition to the cost of the land itself, the cost of the purchased TDR units must be calculated. If a municipality participating in the TDR program wished to add an affordable housing element to a receiving site, it could be feasible to lower the overall price of the housing units on the site. This could be accomplished in several ways. The most likely way would be for the city to allow increased density on the receiving site. The more lots on the site, the less the developer has to charge for each one in order to get the same return on the initial investment.