Press Releases

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which advances understanding of housing issues and informs policy through its research, education, and public outreach programs, is pleased to announce its 2017 Summer Fellows:

Cambridge, MA – Strong gains in home remodeling and repair activity are expected to ease moving into next year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Cambridge, MA – Carol Tomé, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Home Depot, is the new chair of The Policy Advisory Board (PAB) of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Tome’s tenure began last month when the PAB held its winter meeting in Washington, DC.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Homeowner spending on remodeling is expected to see healthy growth through 2025, according to Demographic Change and the Remodeling Outlook, the latest biennial report in the Improving America’s Housing series released today by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studie

The coming year is expected to see sustained momentum in home remodeling and repair spending, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA).

Cambridge, MA – By 2035, more than one in five people in the US will be aged 65 and older and one in three households will be headed by someone in that age group, according to Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035, a report released today by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. This growth will increase the demand for affordable, accessible housing that is well connected to services beyond what current supply can meet.

Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC – The national housing market has now regained enough momentum to provide an engine of growth for the US economy, according to the latest The State of the Nation’s Housing report released today by the Joint Center for Housing Studies. Robust rental demand continues to drive the housing expansion, and sales, prices, and new construction of single-family homes are on the rise.

Cambridge, MA – Strongly accelerating growth in home improvement and repair spending is expected heading into 2017, according to the newly re-benchmarked Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The new and improved LIRA projects that home remodeling spending will increase 8.6% by the end of 2016 and then further accelerate to 9.7% by the first quarter of next year.

Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC – Multifamily housing construction has accelerated to its fastest pace in nearly 30 years but has still not been sufficient to meet surging demand. Rental vacancy rates are now at their lowest point since 1985 and inflation-adjusted rents are rising 3.5 percent annually.

CAMBRIDGE, MA. – The number of households spending more than 50 percent of their income on rent is expected to rise at least 11 percent from 11.8 million to 13.1 million by 2025, according to new research by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) and Enterprise Community Partners Inc (Enterprise).