Study Reveals a 'Bull Market for City Centers'

If housing prices were tracked like the stock market, urban cores would be soaring to new highs.

1 minute read

August 27, 2015, 12:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Los Angeles Downtown Historic Core

Omar Bárcena / Flickr

Joe Cortright describes the findings of a study by the investment ratings company Fitch as the most underreported news of the week, and possibly the year, for urbanists. "Here’s the simple number," writes Cortright, "since 2000, home prices in city centers have outperformed those in suburbs by 50 percent."

"If you care about cities, and you’re looking for definitive evidence of the verdict of the market on urbanism—this is it," he adds. But Cortright is also willing to admit that an analogy might be necessary to bring home the importance of this data to armchair enthusiasts, casual observers, or even the indifferent.

His analogy: the stock market.

Image a CNN business reporter saying:

    'In the market today, city centers were up strongly to a new high'

Or a Wall Street Journal headline

    'A bull market for city centers'

This article includes more about that analogy and the story it relates. An earlier blog, also by Cortright, broke the news of the new data and also looks into the causes of the trend.

Thursday, August 20, 2015 in City Commentary

portrait of professional woman

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

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

Rendering of autonomous cargo train moving across bridge across river in wooded area between Texas and Mexico.

Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor

The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.

3 hours ago - FreightWaves

Rendering of white three-story single-stair building in Austin, Texas with staircase in the middle.

Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway

Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.

4 hours ago - Building Design & Construction

MARTA bus with Atlanta skyline in background

Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access

MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.

5 hours ago - Mass Transit