As the pandemic shifts housing priorities and costs continue to soar, experts assess the potential for a crash similar to 2008's Great Recession.

With home prices and rents rising across the country, Jerusalem Demsas, writing for Vox, attempts to answer the question, "are we in a housing bubble?"
"[T]here’s no agreed-upon economic definition for an asset bubble," writes Demsas. "And in everyday conversation, it appears to mean 'prices have gone up a lot and I think they’re going to come crashing down again.'" Regardless of the label, Demsas argues that home prices depend "on public policy choices that are in our control."
According to research by Harvard economist Robin Greenwood and his fellow researchers, "just because prices rise really fast doesn’t mean it’s a bubble in danger of popping. The definition needs to be narrower than that." A "frenzied ethos" is also a key component. "In general, what people are looking for to determine if there might be a bubble in housing is that the fast price appreciation is detached in at least some ways from the fundamental reasons why prices increase or decrease normally (like supply or demand)."
Regardless of the bubble status of today's housing market, homeowners and buyers, overall, face less risk than before the 2008 crash. "This isn’t a situation where a ton of people have mortgages that they won’t be able to pay off — the marginal homebuyer is wealthier and more secure than in the lead-up to the Great Recession." But "[p]rices are rising, homeownership is increasingly out of the reach of many Americans, and the alternative (renting) is also increasingly expensive, especially in the most job-rich parts of the country. This is an unhealthy, unstable, and unacceptable state of affairs." Demsas blames restrictive zoning laws for "turning an asset that could be widely available into a scarce one" and suggests that local governments should encourage increased density and more housing production to help supply meet rising demand.
FULL STORY: Is there a housing bubble?

How Sharrows Became Cycling’s Most Hated Symbol
Originally designed as a low-cost way to encourage safer road sharing between bikes and cars, the sharrow has become a symbol of the lack of commitment to protected bike infrastructure in many cities.

Keanu Reeves Set to Play Daniel Burnham in ‘The Devil in the White City’
Planning is going to get a new level of star power as a limited series adaptation of The Devil in the White City gets ready for television screens in 2024.

Marrying Urban Identity and Economic Prosperity
A new book posits that truly successful communities have a strong economic base and a firmly rooted sense of place.

Sports Stadiums Bring Few Economic Benefits
While their developers often tout jobs and local economic development as benefits of major stadium projects, research shows these venues often make little impact on local economies.

A How-To for ‘Freeway Fighters’
Ten recommendations for effective freeway removal advocacy.

Miami Rapid Transit Project Moves Forward
The county completed the draft environmental impact study for a monorail and people mover planned as part of its rapid transit system.
McKenna
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
Kinexus Group
Cohousing Association of the US
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Rail~Volution
Sun City Center Community Association, Inc
City of Mesa
Town of Gilbert, Arizona
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.