Analyzing newly released data from the American Community Survey, Jed Kolko finds reason to believe that construction of singly-family housing is outpacing demand.
"Newly released data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) show that the vacancy rate for single-family homes actually ticked up a bit in 2013," reports Jed Kolko. "That’s a big surprise. It suggests even today’s low level of single-family construction might still be too much, too soon."
To make that argument, Kolko breaks down the data on changes in households and housing between 2012 and 2013, finding low rates of household formation, and "[low] household formation means less demand for new construction," writes Kolko.
Kolko then goes on to break down the vacancy data, finding that multi-family vacancies are down while single-family vacancies are up—leading Kolko to conclude that the building industry is focused on the wrong housing type.
FULL STORY: Are We Building Too Many Single-Family Homes?
Starter Homes Are a Non-Starter
As prices rise, especially in desirable urban markets, what used to be called "starter homes" rarely come up for sale. And when they do, they go for more than first time home-buyers can afford.
New Housing Starts Reveal Shift Toward Multi-Family Housing Construction
AP reports on the Anderson Forecast from UCLA that looks into CA's housing slump and shows two distinct markets, one on the rise and the other (single-family housing) falling.
Data center developer offers over $4M per acre to buy out homeowners
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The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association