Housing
A reduction of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) annual mortgage insurance premium rates was scheduled to take effect on January 27. One of the Trump Administration's first actions was to suspend the reduction.
Reuters via Yahoo News
When we start to liken housing and neighborhood cycles to the kinds of predictable, unstoppable cycles found in nature, we may find ourselves in a dangerous trap.
Shelterforce/Rooflines
Age is only a number, they say. But that number is growing for the nation's housing stock, just like for the rest of us.
Realtor Magazine Online
It might seem obvious that vacant homes attract crime and other noxious elements to surrounding properties, but researchers are still working to quantify those external costs.
Next City
Vicki Been is leaving her leadership role at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for a job at New York University.
Politico New York
Feature
The rise of white nationalist politics has many implications for the ideas of a just city.
So far four cities in California require solar panels on all new residential construction, with San Francisco as the most populous example. A proposed law would expand that requirement to the rest of the state.
San Francisco Chronicle
2017 has all the makings of a classic showdown in Oregon, where the state legislature will consider to policies that deeply divide the interest interests of tenants and landlords.
The Portland Mercury
California's recent rains brought relief to a large part of the water-starved state, but another drought of a political nature hasn't seen relief—the will of coastal municipalities to permit more housing. Brown outlined a way for new funding.
Streetsblog California
It's surprisingly common to find cities where land is worth more than buildings. Start with California, for instance.
Realtor
Karen Parolek discusses the 'Missing Middle' that is too often overlooked in discussions about affordable housing.
Modern Cities
Activists call for policy makers to curb deaths among Sacramento, California's homeless population.
Next City
The concept of the circular economy is starting to take hold on governments and business throughout the world. Peter Moskowitz discusses the various ways the concept is being translated into practical, real-world solutions.
Doggerel
Disney's efforts to make a quaint American town both failed and succeeded in ways few could have predicted.
The Economist
Philadelphia suburbs are competing in the regional real estate market by adding thousands of apartments and other amenities traditionally found in more urban settings.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The report by the state Department of Housing and Community Development is in the form of a draft assessment that solicits comments. For the last 10 years, the state produced on average 80,000 units annually, while the need was for 180,000 units.
Public CEO
Plans that focus on giving funds to renters and home buyers won't make housing affordable, and can inflate housing prices and rents.
City Observatory
With rapidly rising costs of living, one study shows the number of homeless in the nation's capital is double the national average.
The New York Times
Demographic change means older city dwellers. Entrepreneurs and developers are searching for better ways to serve this community.
The Guardian
A Santa Ana small lot development could be an example of how California could become more affordable by building more dense urban-style homes throughout the state.
Los Angeles Times
