Overcoming the Myths of the Rental Housing Market

A recent study called “America’s Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs” by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard smashes myths about the rental market—of particular importance given the recent rise in rents around the country.

1 minute read

February 14, 2014, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Apartments for rent signage

Taber Andrew Bain / Flickr

Breann Gala writes of her reactions to the new report out of Harvard, which surprised her even given her role as “an affordable housing and community development practitioner” with the Metropolitan Planning Council.

One of Gala’s bluntly stated takeaways from the report: “Renters are not who you think they are. Rental properties are not what you think they are, or where you think they are.”

Given the surprising facts about the rental market, and given the increasing burden of housing costs on American families, Gala calls on policy makers to adopt policies that reflect the facts, rather than the myths, of the market.

Thursday, February 6, 2014 in Sustainable Cities Collective

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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