Housing: Fundamentals, Imbalance, and Solutions

A coincidence of boomers aging, millennials graduating, the mortgage meltdown, and rising gas prices have established a strong preference for renting over the traditional home ownership. Ben Brown looks at some interesting market fundamentals, along with methods of fulfilling pent up demand.

The biggest housing imbalance is demand for 1-to-3-bedroom homes in walkable, transit-oriented, economically dynamic, job-rich neighborhoods. Brown says we have:

"A giganto demographic push towards flexible, close-in living; a demand for affordability on a broad scale; and an increasing desire for rental options. What this suggests for municipalities and private developers is an opportunity with a challenge."

"The ideal approach would be to produce neighborhood-appropriate rental choices that are impossible to tell from for-sale dwellings. Historic in-town neighborhoods provide the best models. True townhouses. Appropriately scaled stacked flats. And, of course, single-family detached homes that toggle between owner-occupied and rented depending upon market conditions and owner preferences."

Thanks to Hazel Borys