What's New
Accessibility Features for Older Households in Subsidized Housing
January 2020
In the last ten years alone, the share of older...
It’s Time to Cancel the Rent
The Nation
A recent report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies...
It’s Time to Cancel the Rent
The Nation
A recent report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies...
Americans are moving less, and that's bad for the economy
Minneapolis Star Tribune
While most short moves are spurred by housing or family...
Security deposits can be a high-cost hurdle to affordable housing
The Washington Post
“Many of the households with earners in at-risk industries were...
Accessibility Features for Older Households in Subsidized Housing
January 2020
In the last ten years alone, the share of older...
Treasury’s GSE Reform Plan: My Top Ten Political Economy Insights
September 2019
The US Treasury released on September 5th its much-awaited plan...
Homeownership Experiences Following Criminal Justice Contact
December 2019
Recent work has highlighted the significance of incarceration for wealth...
Research and Tools
Are Americans Stuck in Place? Declining Residential Mobility in the US
May 04, 2020
In the 1980s, nearly one in five Americans moved every year. About one in ten Americans moved between 2018 and 2019. Residential mobility rates have been falling for decades, representing a cross-generational shift, with declines particularly steep among young adults and for local moves. The reasons behind this long-term decline are unclear but have been linked to various factors, including demographic change, housing affordability, and labor. This brief discusses the state of residential mobility today, focusing on domestic mobility between and within states, and reviews historical trends in this behavior. It then examines the motivations behind domestic mobility and briefly explores the possible reasons for the long-term, secular decline....
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Empowering Resident Leaders: Lessons from NeighborWorks’ Community Leadership Institute
April 24, 2020
Since 1993, NeighborWorks America has convened over 15,000 lower-income resident leaders at the Community Leadership Institute (CLI). From nearly three decades of large-scale resident support, the CLI stands out as the nation’s largest effort to amplify resident voices, but no research has explored the CLI’s outcomes, or sought to understand what the resident experience is like, or what community initiatives have resulted following the CLI. This paper offers the first review of the CLI, informed by conversations with more than 70 resident participants, qualitative and quantitative data from 493 participant questionnaires, and case studies of two affordable housing provider....
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More for Less? An Inquiry into Design and Construction Strategies for Addressing Multifamily Housing Costs
March 16, 2020
How can developers, architects and contractors address multifamily housing costs through design and construction decisions?...
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Senior Research Associate
Housing Could Help Lead the Post-COVID Economic Recovery
Thursday, May 28, 2020
The US is clearly entering a recession and the only question is how bad it will be. US gross domestic...
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Research Associate
COVID-19 Rent Shortfalls in Small Buildings
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Renters living in single-family homes and smaller multifamily buildings, along with the owners of those properties, are more likely to...
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Senior Industry Fellow
The New Proposed Capital Rule for Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae: Ten Quick Reactions
Friday, May 22, 2020
On Wednesday, May 20 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two...
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Gramlich Fellow
Flexible Zoning and Streamlined Procedures Can Make Housing More Affordable
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
This piece is the second in a four-part series on innovations in design and construction co-published with The Brookings Institution....
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Throughout the year, the Joint Center for Housing Studies reaches beyond the university to promote national discussion of important housing policy issues. In addition to on-campus seminars, lectures, and webcasts, we convene major conferences and symposia on topics of national importance in the housing field, bringing together housing practitioners, researchers, and policymakers from organizations and communities around the country.
See Upcoming Events