Housing

Massachusetts wants to require affordable housing developers to pay construction workers a "prevailing wage", but with costs already totaling $200,000 or more per unit, the proposal may ultimately decrease the amount of affordable housing built.

There is very, very little new housing construction in most of California, where the number of housing starts is down 75% from the boom year of 2005. One result is layoffs for planners, building inspectors and plan checkers.

A new report examines the impacts of the mortgage meltdown on rental housing.

The Federal Reserve has announced plans to help community non-profits to acquire foreclosed homes for use as affordable housing.

In Nebraska, a state experiencing just a moderate level of Hispanic immigration inflow, Attorney General Jon Bruning has drawn the line on who he’ll protect from abusive housing policies and who he won’t. For him, immigrants simply aren’t worth it.

Despite concerns about lowering property values across the city, the L.A. City Council moved to limit the size of newly constructed homes in older neighborhoods to about 4,000 square feet.

Despite naysayers, Masdar City is moving forward. The goal: to be the world's first modern-day carbon-free city.

The bursting of the housing bubble may be tied to rising gas prices, according to one economist.

Americans who've lost their homes to foreclosure are now looking to rent, tightening up already low vacancy rates and driving up prices. Meanwhile, foreclosed homes sit empty.

Nita and Mukesh Ambani are planning a $2 billion, 440,000 square foot, 27-story home for their family in Mumbai -- designed by architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates.

The latest population and housing estimates for the San Fransisco Bay Area show that urban areas are equaling, if not exceeding, the growth of suburban communities -- with more multifamily homes being built in lieu of detached single-family homes.

A new 85-unit apartment building in Harlem shows that affordable housing and green building practices can go hand in hand.

Two ballot measures -- one sponsored by property owners, the other by local government groups and businesses -- seek to tighten the rules around eminent domain, and potentially end rent control in the state.

Smaller, environmentally friendly homes -- ranging from as much as 1000 to as little as 70 square feet -- are a hot trend in modern architecture. Eco-conscious (and wallet-conscious) buyers are increasingly interested in these new "micro mansions".

In the current issue of Housing Policy Debate, Reid Ewing and Fang Rong argue that sprawling urban form contributes to higher residential energy use. Two responses -- one from Samuel Staley and another by John Randolph -- rebut the paper.

The housing markets most affected by the subprime mortgage fallout are those with the toughest land use regulations, argues Wendell Cox.

A new reports says high gas prices have contributed to falling house prices in the nation's suburbs.

Private outdoor space, such as balconies and terraces, are valuable assets to highrise urban dwellers in New York City -- at least, on paper. Whether or not they are actually used to enjoy the outdoors is another issue entirely.

The sub prime crisis is affecting both the growth of planned suburbs and prompting the decline of new suburbs. Is the US heading for Slumburbia?

This video from CBC looks at how Victoria, British Columbia, plans to mimic the efforts of Portland, Oregon, to reduce homelessness by taking a "housing first" approach.