Housing

As housing prices increase on the post-recession wave, many experts are asking people to reconsider the dream of buying and owning a home, especially if that means sinking too deeply in debt or sacrificing mobility.

February 5, 2014 - CBC News

In Philadelphia, an alliance of unusual suspects worked together to convince the city to create the land bank. The law isn't perfect but the new land bank will significantly improve the city’s vacant property process.

February 2, 2014 - Shelterforce

Even if the average size of a new home in the U.S. is creeping back up after taking a promising dip during the recession, trophy McMansions are out as home buyers seek designs that blend traditional home styles with modern floor plans and amenities.

January 28, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

As unbelievable as it may sound in a city with tens of thousands of vacant properties, young professionals are being priced out of popular Detroit neighborhoods like Midtown and Corktown as demand far exceeds supply.

January 27, 2014 - Detroit Free Press

Interest rates on mortgages increased over the summer, and lenders are still holding back on loans, but the cause of the surge in all-cash home sales is a cause for concern for the long-term health of the housing market.

January 27, 2014 - KUOW

Mayor de Blasio's goal of building or preserving 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next 10 years goes beyond what previous mayors have been able to achieve. How realistic are his chances of reaching this "lofty goal"?

January 24, 2014 - Jonathan Nettler

A closer look at the number of Ellis Act evictions indicates that the controversial law that allows property owners to evict rental tenants might be more of a symptom of San Francisco’s housing problem, rather than the problem itself.

January 22, 2014 - San Francisco Magazine

Auburn University's Rural Studio program and other designers from across the U.S. have descended on Hale County, Alabama for two decades in an effort to improve the quality of life for the rural area's residents. What have they achieved?

January 20, 2014 - Fast Company

Foreclosures, the defining signifier of the Great Recession for many Americans, are coming to a screeching halt in Colorado. In fact, the state’s foreclosure rate improved at about twice the national average between 2012 and 2013.

January 19, 2014 - Denver Post

The policies that create affordable housing for the middle class might not be those necessary to prevent homelessness for the destitute.

January 18, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

A trio of elected officials—Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Scott Weiner, and Supervisor Eric Mar—have proposed policy measures to alleviate the housing affordability crisis in San Francisco.

January 18, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Nearing the 20th anniversary of the last large earthquake to strike the L.A. region, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a year-long effort to identify ways to protect the city's vulnerable buildings and critical infrastructure from the next rumbler.

January 15, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, half of the UK's coalition government, accuses the Conservatives of withholding a report that identifies sites for two new towns in 'safe' Conservative regions.

January 14, 2014 - BBC News

A new study by the Community Service Society has found that New York City lost an astonishing percentage of apartments affordable to low-income residents over the past decade. The study supports Mayor de Blasio's "tale of two cities" narrative.

January 13, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Housing construction hasn't kept up with Britain's robust population growth. The Economist floats several ideas for spurring development: relax permissions for developing greenfields, incentivize building on brownfields, and tax the value of land.

January 11, 2014 - The Economist

One of the Obama administration's most promising anti-poverty initiatives will marshal federal grants and expertise from numerous agencies to improve infrastructure, services and opportunities across a wide swath of Los Angeles.

January 9, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Since at least the housing crash, government programs like the mortgage interest deduction that subsidize homeowners over the millions of Americans that rent their homes have come in for criticism. A proposed New York tax might address the imbalance.

January 8, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

With little outside oversight, Boston's powerful yet secretive Redevelopment Agency has squandered millions of dollars that were supposed to help build affordable housing by cutting deals with developers and allocating funds to other uses.

January 7, 2014 - The Boston Globe

An upcoming report by the Association of Bay Area Governments projects the city of San Francisco to add a record-breaking number of residents by 2040. The SF Examiner is running a week-long series exploring the impacts of the expected growth.

January 7, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner

As Chicago's population surged in the second decade of the 20th century, one dominant single-family housing type spread across the city. Over the next year the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate these distinctive homes.

January 7, 2014 - WBEZ