In the media

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Our research is regularly cited in national and local news outlets; below is some of our recent press coverage.

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Politico

How rising prices have burdened battleground states

The dwindling supply of low-rent units is only worsening cost burdens, according to a report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. In 2022, just 7.2 million units had contract rents under $600 — the maximum amount affordable to the 26 percent of renters with annual incomes under $24,000. This marks a loss of 2.1 million units since 2012 when adjusting for inflation.

NPR

Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse

Millions of people across the U.S. live in places that are falling into disrepair, even becoming uninhabitable, making a massive shortage of affordable housing worse. They are disproportionately lower-income and Black or Hispanic, and many are seniors on fixed incomes. But a patchwork of repair programs — federal, state, local and nonprofit — are largely underfunded, with years-long waitlists.

The Boston Globe

Leader of Mattapan tenant organization staves off eviction ... for now

Here, at the housing court, is where the numbers that define that crisis — inflation, rising rents and property values, the scarcity of affordable housing units — become a painful reality. To buy a single-family home in Boston, you need a household income of $217,000, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

The Wall Street Journal

Dreading the Constable’s Knock in an Eviction Capital

Housing affordability is a top issue in the presidential election and has become a focus for both major candidates. The ability to purchase a home is near its worst levels since the 1980s. And half of American renter households spend at least 30% of their income on housing, which is up sharply since 2000, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

AP News

Housing on the ballot: Harris, Trump push different plans for tackling housing affordability crisis

Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, said in a statement that rising interest rates and the pandemic-era spike in housing demand are to blame for rising costs — not immigrants. “While immigrants do add to overall housing demand, they cannot be blamed for the recent surge in home prices and rents that took off in 2020 and 2021, as immigration reached its lowest levels in decades due to the pandemic,” Herbert said.

The Wall Street Journal

Remodeling Spending Forecast to Rebound Next Year

Spending slipped into contraction this year for the first time since the aftermath of the 2008 mortgage meltdown, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The latest reading of the center’s Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity forecasts a return to growth that will push annual spending to $477 billion by this time next year.

NPR (Morning Edition)

Over 60? Climate change could be coming for your nest egg

As the Earth heats up, severe weather — like the floods that damaged the Saladins’ home — is getting more common. Meanwhile, the cost of home insurance is also rising. So are utility bills during intense heat waves. That’s taking a profound financial toll on retirees who live on fixed incomes, many of whom also have looming medical and housing costs associated with aging. “These are all significant financial burdens to older adults,” says Jennifer Molinsky, who directs the Housing an Aging Society program at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

NBC News

Middle-class homeowners are increasingly squeezed by housing costs

Daniel McCue, a senior research associate at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said record home price growth was one driver of cost burdens, but also rising property taxes and insurance premiums. These have combined with high interest rates to create punishing pressure, even as many Americans are earning more money.

WGBH

Solutions for more housing? Let apartment buildings have just one stairwell.

It’s a longstanding building code for most buildings with over nine units to have two stairwells, and one with roots in fire safety. But authors of a new report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and the design firm Utile say getting rid of the requirement would cut down on construction costs and let developers build on more of the small, unused lots in the Boston area.

Politico

JD Vance says ‘illegal immigrants’ are keeping you from owning your own home

“While immigrants do add to overall housing demand, they cannot be blamed for the recent surge in home prices and rents that took off in 2020 and 2021, as immigration reached its lowest levels in decades due to the pandemic,” said Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.