Institutional buyers who treat housing as an investment product become disconnected from the impacts of higher rents, displacement, and housing instability.

Writing in Strong Towns, Edward Erfurt argues that the financialization of housing — “a system that increasingly treats homes like stocks” — is a significant component of the current housing crisis.
According to Erfurt, “The U.S. housing market is entangled with the financial system. We have been trained to see rising rents and home values as a sign of economic strength, but when those increases are the result of artificial manipulation rather than organic demand, that “growth” is an illusion.”
Investors who buy housing as a financial product don’t consider the ramifications of higher rents, displacement, and the destabilization of communities. “They are investing in a financial product, not in shelter. Their focus is on whether their fund continues to grow.”
Erfurt notes that our local planning systems perpetuate this behavior with laws and regulations that often favor large-scale developers who can afford to navigate intricate permitting processes. For Erfurt, the solution is a shift in how we treat housing. “It's not a speculative financial instrument but an essential piece of infrastructure for a healthy community. That means supporting policies and reforms that empower small-scale development, remove artificial barriers, and restore competition to local housing markets.”
FULL STORY: The Rent Is Too Damn Artificial

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions