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

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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.
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Planning for Universal Design
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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