Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies

Home Prices Have Risen Rapidly in Rural Vacation Areas

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...

Home Prices Have Risen Rapidly in Rural Vacation Areas

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...

Who Owns America - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy The Lincoln Institute and the Center for Geospatial Solutions released a report that explores the current state of corporate ownership of residential property in the US and identifies 25 county hotspo...

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 👇

Renters Vulnerable to Climate Disasters Amid Insurance Gaps

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...

Building Missing Middle Housing: Six Actions Massachusetts Can Take Beyond Policy Reform

6. Who will coordinate statewide missing middle activity?

Recommendation: Establish a statewide missing middle office or dedicated position to lead cross-sector efforts and ensure their viability.

Read the full paper:
www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/buildin...

5. How will new middle housing be funded?

Recommendation: Create or convene novel funding sources (like Colorado’s Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit and Oregon’s Missing Middle Housing Fund).

4. How will middle housing be delivered efficiently and at scale?

Recommendation: Advocate for and implement construction innovation to accelerate timelines and decrease cost in delivery. Off-site construction, including modular and panelized building systems, can help close cost gaps.

3. Where will these new homes be built?

Recommendation: Work with development-ready communities and community groups to pilot statewide missing middle initiatives—and build new homes. Places with updated zoning, political support, and clear development processes could serve as early pilot sites.

2. Who will build new missing middle homes?

Recommendation: Stand up a missing middle builder training cohort and construction trades pipeline. Cities like Austin have created training cohorts that help new builders learn pro formas, construction strategies, local codes, and financing structures.

1. What will new missing middle homes look like?

Recommendation: Create a statewide missing middle design guide and locally implemented pre-approved plan set for Massachusetts.

Building Missing Middle Housing: Six Actions Massachusetts Can Take Beyond Policy Reform

🧵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...

DHS calls on citizens to report illegal neighbors to get affordable housing "Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens in your area," DHS wrote in a post on X.

“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...

Harvard Symposium Tackles 400 Years of Homelessness in America | Harvard Magazine Professors explore the history of homelessness in the U.S., from colonial poor laws to today’s housing crisis

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...

How a US home insurance fix is becoming a problem U.S. states have set up insurers to provide protection in disaster-prone areas that private insurance has avoided. They are taking on more risks as calamities become widespread.

"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 Incentive Programs and Multifamily Housing: Evidence from Los Angeles

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.

Building Resilient Communities: Lessons from the Transformative Development Initiative in Massachusetts

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...

Majority of formerly homeless families in Far Rockaway building sent to eviction court Related Companies and WIN operate a supportive housing unit in Far Rockaway, where 43 tenants faced eviction proceedings and four were evicted or left.

“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

Why Home Depot had a disappointing quarter The company blamed consumer uncertainty and a stuck housing market.

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...

Here’s Where You Can Spend Less Than $1,000 on Rent

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...

Statement by UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Director Margot Kushel MD on HUD’s FY2025 Continuum of Care Program NOFO | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative SAN FRANCISCO (November 17, 2025) – Following is a statement by Margot Kushel, MD, Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) at the University of California, San Francisco, on...

“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....

Why home insurance is unaffordable, even in places without wildfires or hurricanes Some of the country's highest home insurance prices are in the central U.S., a region generally considered to be protected from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes.

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...