Starting momentarily, still time to join us. @harvardkennedy.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/usi...

Members of the @harvard.edu & @mitdusp.bsky.social communities, join us next Monday, November 10 @gsd.harvard.edu for a screening of the film To Build Law, a documentary by the @ccaconversations.bsky.social about the growing movement that fights for renovation over demolition.

Today @ 1pm ET: Permanent Supportive Housing can be an effective way to reduce homelessness, but providers often lack the real-time data needed to track vacancies and quickly move people into units. A new study outlines strategies to get people into homes faster. mailchi.mp/harvard/perm...

Home insurance rates are skyrocketing faster than home prices and overall inflation, draining homeowners of billions of dollars in premiums amid rising policy cancellations — driven in part by insurers’ use of artificial intelligence to assess risk.

Unemployment rates for young adults have increased rapidly in recent years. Even before this, they had higher rates of cost burden and were less likely to receive housing assistance, despite having lower incomes, and these challenges have only worsened. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/rising-...

Please join us on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., in person or online, for the release of the 2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card. buff.ly/Q8hGZHv We’re excited to have Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll join us. She will share a research presentation and her remarks.

This Wed, Nov 5 @ 1pm: Permanent Supportive Housing can be an effective way to reduce homelessness, but providers often lack the data to track vacancies and quickly move people into units. A new report outlines steps that can get people into homes faster. www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/usi...

Young adults are bearing the brunt of weak job growth. The 16-24 unemployment rate climbed to 10.5% in Aug, up 2.7 percentage points. Even in a strong economy, young adults face difficulties in the housing market but this will only compound their difficulties. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/rising-...

Home price increases tend to come in waves, says our managing director Chris Herbert. They rose fast during the 70s, 80s, and before the 2008 recession. The recent spike in prices is due partly to a shortage of supply but it’s also a function of pent-up demand. www.governing.com/urban/housin...

oh rad my friend susanne schindler's piece on design competitions as a means for better procurement and better buildings for @harvard-jchs.bsky.social is out! this is something i want to lean into heavily for local mixed income housing projects. :) www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/process...

“It’s a really dire situation,” said @jenmolinsky.bsky.social about the lack of accessible housing for older adults. Common solutions for aging in place, like aluminum ramps & clunky steel grab bars tend to be eyesores and constant reminders of mobility challenges. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/r...

One issue with public procurement practices for new housing is that only large, established firms can afford the lengthy process. A new paper argues that design competitions are a better way to diversify housing design and improve construction quality. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/process...

A new Federal Reserve Bank of Boston podcast digs into our State of the Nation's Hosing report and examines what could help ease the affordability pressures that so many are feeling across the US. @dmccue.bsky.social www.bostonfed.org/publications...

This Thursday, October 30, @jenmolinsky.bsky.social, director of our Housing an Aging Society program, delivers the keynote at AARP Rhode Island's Housing For The Care Economy workshop. Register to attend: events.aarp.org/event/AARPRI...

We’re excited to announce the launch of our redesigned website! Discover a new look, improved search, and easier access to our research, data, and events. www.jchs.harvard.edu

"The modern-day zoning regime codified ideals of car-dependency, exclusionary suburban enclaves, and Euclidian separation of land uses. Multifamily housing, even medium-scale homes like duplexes, were excluded from “by-right” zoning uses, leaving middle housing MISSING."

Amy Love Tomasso, a former student @gsd.harvard.edu who is now Director of Policy Innovation at Ivory Innovations, explains missing middle housing, what it is, and what cities and states can do to encourage more of it.

LIVE NOW: Amy Love Tomasso joins us to discuss her series of papers on Missing Middle Housing, what it is, and strategies and policies that can be used to build more of it. www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/unl...

TODAY @ 2pm ET: Zoning regulations and other obstacles have made it difficult, if not impossible, to build missing middle housing across the US. What strategies and policies would encourage more middle housing and help address the affordability crisis? mailchi.mp/harvard/toda...

The average home insurance premium increased by nearly 25 percent from 2021 to 2024. Consumer Reports proposes a way to halt—or at least slow—an unsustainable trajectory: a Homeowners Insurance Bill of Rights. www.consumerreports.org/money/homeow...

This Fri, Oct 24 @ 2pm ET: Missing middle housing is one possible solution to the housing crisis, but zoning regulations and other obstacles make it difficult, if not impossible, to build. Join us for a discussion of strategies to expand the middle housing supply. mailchi.mp/harvard/frid...

About 75% of those 50 and older want to remain in their homes as they age but rising housing costs and upkeep, as well as health problems, can make living in their home more difficult. “We need alternatives,” says @jenmolinsky.bsky.social. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...

Remodeling spending is projected to remain steady through the end of this year and into the middle of 2026, according to our latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA). www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/remodel...

There are just a few spots left for @harvard.edu graduate students to join this case on inclusive growth with Maurice Cox, the former Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago. Deadline to register is Mon, Oct 13. cities.harvard.edu/events/lunch...

Looking ahead, household growth — a key driver of multifamily demand — is expected to moderate but the impact may be less than feared because a greater share of new households are projected to rent rather than buy homes. www.multifamilydive.com/news/rents-d...

How can local governments expedite housing projects and scale up production to meet residents’ needs? A new Terner Center analysis offers lessons from recent efforts by the City of San Diego and Mayor Todd Gloria. ow.ly/jBNN50X6lSH

The FHFA is proposing a change that would weaken Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s affordable housing goals, consumer advocates warn.

Career opportunity: The Terner Center is seeking a Senior Research Associate to help advance the understanding and expansion of innovative and industrialized construction methods to improve and expand housing delivery. Please help us spread the word: ow.ly/4g2O50WYgKK

One issue with aging in place is the lack of American housing stock that is safe and accessible for seniors. Only 1% is wheelchair accessible, making falls more of a risk, says @jenmolinsky.bsky.social in a new @nytimes.com article. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/r...

The national median single-family home price grew to 5 times the median household income in 2024, nearly matching previous record highs, writes @pjwhit.bsky.social in a new blog post. As a result, homeownership remains out of reach for many prospective buyers. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...

Today @ 12:15 pm ET: BUILDING FOR SAFETY While building codes have reduced the risk of dangerous fires in multifamily homes over time, some common aspects of fire codes may unnecessarily restrict the development of affordable, well-designed multifamily housing. mailchi.mp/harvard/fire...

A new report looks at “residual income cost burdens,” defined as “not having enough income left after paying rent to cover all other necessities.” The 2/3 of renter households that have residual cost burdens is higher than the 50% with traditional cost burdens www.planetizen.com/news/2025/10...

Spending over 30% of household income on housing qualifies as rent burdened. But according to the latest research from @harvard-jchs.bsky.social the “30% metric” underestimates how many renters are actually burdened by housing costs once you include food, healthcare, childcare, transport, & more:

Today @ 1pm ET: Dr. April Y. Silas, CEO of Homeless Children's Network, will discuss ways we can develop our psychosocial, spiritual, and internal capacities to contribute to the eradication of homelessness. mailchi.mp/harvard/dr-a...

"This leaves them with difficult decisions to make: cut back on vital needs and sacrifice a modest standard of living or borrow to cover basic expenses?” Via: @harvard-jchs.bsky.social www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/two-thi... #housing+ #urbanism #urbanism+

HUD today fired two civil rights lawyers who spoke publicly about their whistleblower complaint over the Trump admin's cuts to the office that enforces fair housing laws.

Congrats @gsd.harvard.edu students Tejas S., Justin Joel Tan, Pranav Subramanian, and Marko Velazquez whose team won 1st place in the design/construction category in the Hack-a-House affordable housing competition (www.hackahouse.org/2025-winners...) cosponsored by @harvard-jchs.bsky.social

Rising rents are leaving households with less income to pay for other needs, and inflation has also pushed up the cost of other necessities. Our new paper finds that, after paying for rent, 2/3 of working-age renters cannot afford their basic needs. www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/two-thi...

The concept of a “housing shortage” is, in theory, pretty simple. In practice, defining and then setting out to quantify the “housing you need” is an exercise fraught with messy data, guestimation and an inconvenient need for judgement calls. https://cal.news/4gLVeCj 📊 @frombenc.bsky.social

TODAY! – Join us in Piper Auditorium for the 2025 DDes Conference, "‘HOME’CAST: Shaping the Built Environment through Data-Driven Innovation". https://hgsd.us/4mlkIrr

And they're off! Students from @harvardkennedy.bsky.social, @gsd.harvard.edu, and @mit.edu have taken over our offices for the annual 24-hour virtual Hack-a-house hackathon to formulate innovative ideas to improve housing affordability. We can't wait to see what creative ideas they come up with.

Starting shortly! The 24-hour Hack-a-House competition starts at 2pm ET and @harvard.edu students are invited to watch the kickoff in our office and work on their projects here this afternoon. Good luck everyone! www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/hac...

The share of women working in the construction industry is on the rise and at its highest rate in 20 years. Women made up 11.2% of the construction industry workforce in 2024, for a total of about 1.34 million women and a year-over-year increase of 0.4%. www.homes.com/news/number-...

The US has a national housing shortage and some advocates credit the problem to a lack of “middle” housing — duplexes, townhomes and small dwellings that fall between single-family homes and apartment buildings. Our new series examines the missing middle. www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/housing...

Federal datasets underpin everything from health research and economic forecasting to climate science and housing policy. But today, these resources face unprecedented threats. On Oct 1, our friends at @shorensteinctr.bsky.social will unpack the current moment. shorensteincenter.org/new-event/va...

The sheer volume of Massachusetts' regulations for building new housing can drive up the costs in significant ways. For example, the requirement for two stairwells along with other fire safety regulations can add 15-25% to the cost of a project. @bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/21/o...

LIVE NOW: Our @dmccue.bsky.social shares the Center's projections for household and homeownership growth over the next decade (tldr: significant slowdown ahead). www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/loo...

TODAY @ 2pm ET: Our senior research associate Daniel McCue discusses how shifting demographics, a persistently challenging homebuying environment, and changing immigration policies will affect household formation in the coming decades. @dmccue.bsky.social mailchi.mp/harvard/proj...

Even with a slight drop in interest rates, “unaffordability is going to be here for a while,” said our managing director Chris Herbert. The typical buyer needs to earn $126K a year to afford the median home price, a 60% jump from the $79K required in 2021. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Fed rate cuts influence how banks determine loan rates and could contribute to a trend of interest rates slowly decreasing over time. Here’s what this means for your mortgage, car loan and savings account: