The US remodeling market soared above $600 billion in the wake of the pandemic and remains 50 percent above pre-pandemic levels. Join us March 20 for the release of our biennial report, Improving America's Housing 2025.
The Industrious Neighborhood model for equitable urban growth reimagines light-industrial zones as productive living hubs that integrate housing and workforce development with emerging industries.
Non-cash rental arrangements are an important but overlooked source of housing affordability, especially for lower-income and older-adult households with substantial affordability needs.
The number of homeowners burdened by housing costs is increasing, with the greatest burdens being shouldered by older adults, households of color, and other vulnerable populations.
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.
Housing affordability is a growing concern for homeowners. While high home prices and mortgage interest rates have forced first-time buyers to stretch their budgets, longtime homeowners are increasingly burdened by rising costs for home insurance, property taxes, utilities and routine maintenance of their homes. The greatest burdens are being shouldered by those with the lowest incomes, many of whom are older adults on fixed incomes or single-person and single-parent households relying on a single income. With costs of homeownership rising and the number of households with burdens growing, demand for programs offering financial support will be necessary to keep homeowners safely and securely housed.
Restrictive zoning and NIMBY attitudes have left nearly a third of neighborhoods across the United States with few options for renters. We examine the characteristics of these rental deserts, defined as neighborhoods where rental units make up less than 20% of the housing stock, and argue that uneven geographies of rental opportunities bolster patterns of socioeconomic and racial segregation because renters are disproportionately lower-income and people of color.
This paper presents detailed projections for household growth in years 2025–2035 and 2035–2045 along with the data and methodology used to create them. The primary finding is that growth in the number of households in the US is expected to slow in the coming decades. Under the Center’s main projection, the number of households in the US is projected to rise by 8.6 million households, or approximately 860,000 per year, between 2025 and 2035. This would be less household growth than in any of the past three decades.
