Despite the housing boom in certain markets (such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco), the real estate market is nowhere near the economic driver it once was.
“Investment in residential property remains a smaller share of the overall economy than at any time since World War II, contributing less to growth than it did even in previous steep downturns in the early 1980s, when mortgage rates hit 20 percent, or the early 1990s, when hundreds of mortgage lenders failed,” report Neil Irwin.
The problem is that the housing market is holding back the economic recovery of the entire economy. Explains Irwin: “If building activity returned merely to its postwar average proportion of the economy… The additional building, renovating and selling of homes would add about 1.5 million jobs and knock about a percentage point off the unemployment rate, now 6.7 percent. That activity would close nearly 40 percent of the gap between America’s current weak economic state and full economic health.”
Irwin examines Roanoke, Virginia to describe the sluggish market. One big reason for the market's malaise: lack of demand, in many cases caused by new patterns of “household formation.”
Read the full story: Why the Housing Market Is Still Stalling the Economy
Millennials Not Ready to Leave Mom's Basement
During the Great Recession, household formation in the U.S. was well below historic levels, dimming the demand for new homes. Although many sectors of the economy have experienced sustained recoveries, household growth still lags.
Wave of Household Growth Likely Cresting, Relieving Crowded Housing Markets
A recent series of data on the growth of households in the United States reveals the unprecedented scale of housing demand in recent years.
State of the Nation's Housing: Housing Production, Supply Still Coming Up Short
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released its annual "The State of the Nation's Housing" report this morning. There are some signs of post-recession normalcy in the housing market for high-income earners.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello