Immigration Keeps Residential Housing Strong

" Immigration seems to be playing a particularly strong role in the housing boom around major cities. Immigrant families tend to cluster in densely populated areas where jobs are plentiful. But a combination of limited developable space and tough zoning rules has prevented the supply of housing from keeping pace with job creation in big cities. "The lack of supply has put upward pressure on home prices nationwide," says John Lonski, senior economist at Moody's Investors Service.New York, Southern California, and South Florida have taken the largest share of new immigrants, but many more cities and their suburbs have experienced a rapidly growing housing market due to immigration, says Robert Reid, executive director of the National Housing Conference."