This year, the US housing market is shrouded in uncertainty amid a worsening affordability crisis. Our new State of the Nation's Housing 2025 report is now available.
What does the nationwide social housing movement mean for New England, a part of the country that is notoriously expensive yet uniquely rich in housing expertise?
In a new paper, we find that after paying for housing and basic living expenses, only 24 percent of households age 75 and over had sufficient income to afford a daily paid visit from a home health aide.
Three PhD candidates have been named 2025 John R. Meyer Dissertation Fellows. Congratulations to José Carlos Fernández Salas, Matthew Jacob, and Michelle Xiyue Li.
Joint Center for Housing Studies
of Harvard University
Our Center strives to improve equitable access to decent, affordable homes in thriving communities and conducts rigorous research to advance policy and practice.
The US housing market is shrouded in uncertainty. High home prices and interest rates have pushed sales to their lowest level in 30 years; insurance premiums and property taxes are on the rise; high rents have left record numbers with cost burdens; and devastating wildfires have highlighted the growing dangers of climate disasters. And the increasing likelihood of an economic downturn threatens to deepen these challenges.
This research examines the factors influencing older Hispanic homeowners' capacity to transfer housing equity to the next generation, potentially facilitating homeownership for younger Hispanic households. Key areas of focus include income, debt, wealth, loans, homeownership, housing structure, mortgage interest rates, language proficiency, and health.
While the majority of older adults will need care and assistance at some point in their lives, services for tasks such as dressing and bathing are affordable to only a very limited number of older adults, particularly after housing and other living costs are paid. This paper used 2021 Genworth cost of care data, the American Community Survey, and the Elder Index, a regional cost-of-living estimate specific to older adults’ budgets, to construct a metro-level estimate of the total cost for housing, other basic living expenses, and one daily visit from a paid home health aide.
