In the Media

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

In general, economists are skeptical that immigrants are the main driver of the current predicament. Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said that 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.” That was when immigration reached its lowest levels in decades because of the pandemic.

Experts note government or nonprofit programs for home repairs often zero in on energy efficiency or getting a home to basic habitability instead of more cosmetic touches like a kitchen upgrade or curb appeal. This aligns with data that show lower-income households are much more likely to pursue replacement projects than discretionary improvements, said Sophia Wedeen, a senior research analyst at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

What is evident, however, is that home prices have surged 53% since January 2020, just prior to the pandemic, pushing many would-be homebuyers out of the market. And with rents soaring 25% over the same time period, half of all renters are now defined as "cost burdened." That means a record share of renters now spend more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.