For over 60 years, we have traced how people live, what housing works and what doesn’t, and when smart policy can widen the circle of opportunity. Thank you to A. Krista Sykes @gsd.harvard.edu for capturing our center's past, present, and future so thoughtfully. www.gsd.harvard.edu/2025/12/hist...

Today @ 3pm ET - How Communities Layer Resources to Prevent Homelessness: leaders will share how their communities are using a continuum of support and resources to help people stay housed and how eviction prevention programs fit in. @hsph.harvard.edu mailchi.mp/harvard/prev...

Our updated projections show 6.9 million new households in a low-immigration scenario, compared to 8.6 million with average immigration. @dmccue.bsky.social @housingwire.com.web.brid.gy www.housingwire.com/articles/low...

Thank you to the @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social for a deep dive on our center, its history, and the role we play in addressing the country's "wicked problem" of housing. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

For people with modest incomes, the 30% rule isn't bad, but for very poor or very wealthy people, the rule is less useful. “If I’m Jeff Bezos, I could probably spend 99.9% of my income on housing and still have enough left over for everything else,” says Chris Herbert. www.pbs.org/newshour/eco...

Because administrative actions have led immigration to drop to much lower levels than previously expected, we have published an addendum to our recent homeownership and household growth projections. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/revised...

Tomorrow (12/16) at 1pm ET: Join our friends @hsph.harvard.edu for Criminalizing the Streets, an event examining the growing shift toward the criminalization of homelessness and its consequences for public health, human rights, and community safety. harvard.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Happy #MapMonday! Rural home prices soared after the pandemic, by 36% in non-metro counties and fully 47% in vacation counties from 2020–2023, per new work from my @harvard-jchs.bsky.social colleagues @aherm.bsky.social & @pjwhit.bsky.social. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...

With partial funding from our center, @gsd.harvard.edu professor Eve Blau disusses the challenges of rebuilding Ukraine, and how architecture, urban design, and planning can respond under conditions of profound instability and change. www.harvarddesignmagazine.org/articles/ukr...

Excited to release our new paper today with my colleague @pjwhit.bsky.social. We examine what types of rural areas had the fastest home price appreciation in the pandemic era. 🧵 www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...

A new paper finds that home prices in rural areas increased 36.1% between 2020-2023, but in counties with a high share of vacation and second homes, prices rose even faster at 46.8%. @aherm.bsky.social @pjwhit.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...

A new @landpolicy.bsky.social report analyzed 500 urban counties where data was the most robust, and found that 8.9% of residential parcels are owned by corporations. It also identifies 25 county hot spots that have the highest rates of corporate ownership. www.lincolninst.edu/publications...

New blog post on renters and property insurance. Many renters possess no property insurance whatsover, which can influence housing recovery after storms, fires, etc. In response to rising property insurance costs, many landlords have also raised rents and/or deferred maintenance. More in post 👇

41% of the nation’s rental stock (over 18 million units) are in counties considered high-risk by FEMA. Gaps in property insurance and disaster recovery programs leave renters physically and financially vulnerable when disasters strike. @stevekoller.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/renters...

Our housing design fellow Aaron Smithson looked at six CBOs that used off-site construction to build housing. Across most of the projects, factory building cut timelines, lowered development costs, or both compared with conventional construction. @rdcnews.bsky.social www.realtor.com/advice/buy/f...

🧵A new paper outlines six questions and recommended actions to address missing middle housing adoption and the barriers to building these homes efficiently, economically, and at scale. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/buildin...

Exciting opportunity at our research center! We’re seeking a visionary leader to serve as the inaugural Retsinas Director — a role that blends strategic leadership, research direction, and national engagement on housing policy. Apply by January 9, 2026. www.jchs.harvard.edu/nicolas-p-an...

“While immigrants do add to overall housing demand, they cannot be blamed for the recent surge in home prices and rents... trends in interest rates and the pandemic-induced demand for housing were mostly responsible," says our managing director Dr. Chris Herbert. www.newsweek.com/dhs-tells-ci...

The event examined solutions proposed by Harvard faculty for today’s homelessness crisis—setting the stage for a wide-ranging conversation about how past policies can be mapped onto current national challenges. @harvardmagazine.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu www.harvardmagazine.com/social-scien...

This Friday, December 5 @ Noon ET, join our faculty affiliate @rachel-meltzer.bsky.social for an @areuea.bsky.social Policy Forum: Opportunity Zones: How Have they Changed and How Are They Working? areuea.memberclicks.net/areuea-polic...

"If the cost of doing business rises for an insurer and the regulatory regime doesn’t allow prices in the marketplace to rise at a commensurate level, then private insurers might choose to not do business in an area,” says @stevekoller.bsky.social. @reuters.com www.reuters.com/graphics/USA...

Transit-oriented development incentives aim to address housing affordability by encouraging density near transit. In her new Meyer Fellowship paper, Stephanie Kestelman @arnoldventures.bsky.social examines the impacts of one such program in Los Angeles. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/transit...

Where are deaths now outpacing births? According to new analysis from the @washingtonpost.com, it’s happening primarily in older, whiter counties.

The pandemic and many recent natural disasters highlight that it is crucial for commercial corridors to be ready to respond to unanticipated threats to their long-term vitality. A new paper from Gramlich Fellow Jein Park examines one strategy for doing so. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/buildin...

“I am doing all I can. I just need more time.” Via: @gothamist.com gothamist.com/news/majorit... #housing+ #urbanism #urbanism+

TODAY @ 3:15 pm: A conversation with the Mayor of Denver @harvardkennedy.bsky.social and open to all @harvard.edu ID holders. @gsd.harvard.edu @hls.harvard.edu @hsph.harvard.edu

Home Depot’s results don’t capture the whole picture of the $600 billion home improvement industry, though. “Home Depot is serving a segment of the remodeling industry. They're generally serving homeowners who are working on DIY projects," says Rachel Drew. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...

Rent increases have outpaced growth in household income since 2001, leaving more Americans to spend over 30 percent of their income on housing. But in some parts of the South and Midwest it's still possible to rent for under $1000/mo. @sophiawedeen.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/r...

TODAY @ 4pm ET: Join us for a discussion about the evolving landscape of affordable housing finance, the impacts of recent federal disruptions, and policy opportunities to support growth in Massachusetts and beyond. mailchi.mp/harvard/affo...

“The changes announced in this year’s CoC NOFO represent a profound and dangerous departure from longstanding evidence-based homelessness policy..." says BHHI Director Margot Kushel, MD. Read @mkushel.bsky.social's full statement: homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/pr...

A new paper by our Gramlich fellow Aaron Smithson examines the use of off-site construction to build new affordable housing, including SRO units for formerly unhoused residents to single-family for-sale homes on community land trust plots. @gsd.harvard.edu www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/using-s...

Happy #MapMonday! Net migration in rural areas surged during the pandemic—and remains high. In many of these communities, migration is offsetting steep natural loss. See where in the dark green on the map, and read more in my new @harvard-jchs.bsky.social blog: www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/post-pa....

was listening to this NPR piece on insurance and the cost of hailstorms in the US exceeding $150 *billion* just last year alone that's incredible. and it'll get worse w/ climate change. also, operable exterior shutters help address this! www.npr.org/2025/11/13/n...

Next Tue, Nov 18: Join us for a convo about the evolving landscape of affordable housing finance, the impacts of federal disruptions, and policy opportunities to support growth in Massachusetts and beyond. @masshousing.bsky.social @harvardkennedy.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/aff...

Live now: What is gentrification and what happened when @sjccorn.bsky.social, author of The Last House on the Block, bought a $7000 house in the Brightmoor neighborhood of Detroit? www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/las...

Live now and still time to join us: @sjccorn.bsky.social talks about her new book, The Last House on the Block www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/las...

TODAY @ 12:15 pm: A new book from @sjccorn.bsky.social examines whether gentrification is inevitable when white homesteaders come to one of the most depopulated neighborhoods in the country. mailchi.mp/harvard/last...

The @gsd.harvard.edu seeks to appoint a distinguished scholar and/or practitioner with a deep understanding of housing markets, practice, and policy to serve as the Nicolas P. and Joan B. Retsinas Director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. www.jchs.harvard.edu/nicolas-p-an...

Tomorrow (11/14) @ 12:15 pm ET: A new book from our former postdoc @sjccorn.bsky.social examines whether gentrification is inevitable when white homesteaders come to one of the most depopulated neighborhoods in the country. @consumerfed.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/las...

The expected cuts, which would be the most consequential in a generation, are detailed in forthcoming 100-page notice from HUD, and would govern more than $3.5 billion in Continuum of Care funds, the main source of federal money for homelessness. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...

My last big story for the year is up at @dwell.bsky.social: I spoke with ~a dozen millennials who left big cities during or after the pandemic. What I found was a lot of people trying to redefine what ‘upward mobility’ might mean: www.dwell.com/article/rura...

Next Thu, Nov 20, the @harvard.edu community is invited to join us for a conversation with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who has led efforts to move thousands of people experiencing homelessness into housing with collaborative programs and measurable results. www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/del...

"To live up to that promise, building a wide range of diverse housing options must be a central goal, ensuring that new families can put down roots and that existing residents are not priced out by rising costs." To learn more, check out the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2025. buff.ly/NF8hGbY

Home insurance is getting less affordable, and less available, as insurers raise prices and pull back from areas with extreme weather. That's forcing families across the country to make tough choices. n.pr/47QGKwH

After losing population for much of the 2010s, rural areas have been consistently gaining population in the post-pandemic era, writes @riordanfrost.bsky.social in a new blog. Try the interactive map: www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/post-pa...

Buying a house, long a signifier of middle-class status, is considered the most dependable way to build wealth. But in Greater Boston, doing so requires a household income of $229,000, more than twice the income needed 10 years ago. @ktkjohnston.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/12/m...

Homeowners with low mortgage rates and a lot of equity feel little pressure to sell and rising insurance costs and property taxes are making matters worse. "Many buyers are maxed out on cost,” said @dmccue.bsky.social. "Lower interest rates can only get them so far.” www.wsj.com/personal-fin...

“It’s not uncommon for people to remake the house they’re in,” says Rachel Drew. “They like their neighborhood, they may not have the funds to move, or they have favorable loan terms they’re unwilling to give up.” Remodeling activity is up about 5% year over year. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/07/r...

Live now: @stephkestelman.bsky.social @arnoldventures.bsky.social discusses her research examining how the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Incentive Program in Los Angeles has affected the quantity, type, and timing of new housing since its adoption in 2017. www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/tra...

In just five years, the income needed to afford the median-priced home nearly doubled—from $68k to $131k. Getting payments back to 2020 levels would require interest rates to be nearly zero, per @harvard-jchs.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/lower-i... #FigureFriday #housing #affordability