The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies releases its "The State of the Nation’s Housing 2020" report last month.

A post by the Housing Matter initiative of the Urban Institute shares news of the latest publication of the "The State of the Nation’s Housing 2020" report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS).
After noting the many disruptions affecting the housing market in 2020, the article summarizes the consequences of the year's events as worse for the housing crisis that pre-dated the pandemic.
The pandemic’s economic effects have amplified this crisis, and households with low incomes were more likely to report a loss of income and were more likely to be severely cost burdened. For aspiring homeowners, a combination of tight housing supply and historically low mortgage rates have increased the price of homes.
According to the report's finding, the pandemic's economic consequences have hit renters particularly hard, along with Latino and Black households. "[T]he nation’s housing challenges have never been so evident," according to the JCHS press release announcing the report [pdf].
As for the economic consequences of the pandemic, for homeowners, the press release provides insight:
…low income and households of color have taken a disproportionate hit. While 36 percent of all homeowners reported losing income between March and September, the shares are as high as 44 percent among owners earning less than $25,000, 41 percent among Black owners, and 49 percent among Hispanic owners. Additionally, while 7 percent of white homeowners were behind on mortgage payments in late September, the share was nearly two-and-a-half times higher among Hispanic (18 percent) and Black (17 percent) owners, and twice as high among Asian owners (12 percent).
In another post to grow out of the report's findings, Riordan Frost shares insights into trends in homelessness as reported in the study. The key takeaway: "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, homelessness was increasing across the country."
Much of the data included in the report stops short of 2020, so the impacts of the pandemic will still be coming into focus for months and probably years.
FULL STORY: State of the Nation’s Housing 2020

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont