While the housing crisis of expensive coastal cities gets all the attention, many parts of the country are challenged with real estate markets that lack the stability to attract investments.
An article by Pete Saunders asks us to shift our focus from the skyrocketing real estate prices of booming cities around the country to places where the price of housing is too low.
"Yes, there are places where housing prices and rents are so low that they have the effect of destabilizing all attempts at revitalization," writes Saunders. "And the problem receives far less attention than the challenge of housing affordability."
Saunders is taking a cue from a June report from Brookings "that rightly summed up the issue of housing in America -- it's too expensive, too cheap, or just right, depending on where you live."
"In essence, housing issues are a complex mix of regional issues, not an overarching national one, and the report's authors recommend against using any type of one-size-fits-all policy prescription," adds Saunders.
Saunders goes onto sharpen the focus of the natural attention on affordable housing to what specifically lowers prices in some cities, as well as the challenges caused by depressed real estate values for municipalities and residents.
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