In the media

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Our research is regularly cited in national and local news outlets; below is some of our recent press coverage.

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CityLab

America Is Aging Into a Housing Crisis for Older Adults

By 2034, the Census Bureau projects that the US will be home to more people over 65 than people under 18. Finding safe and affordable housing for this fast-growing segment of the population is becoming an urgent task, according to a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Fast Company

America’s housing stock isn’t ready for aging boomers

The report, Housing America’s Older Adults, was issued by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). It explores the many ways the housing stock of the U.S. has been built without the needs of older people in mind, from a lack of accessibility features for those with mobility challenges, to geographic isolation from services, to the sheer dearth of affordable housing for those with limited means.

US News & World Report

These States Are Bringing In More Residents Than They're Losing

“It's definitely an increase from before the pandemic,” says Riordan Frost, a senior research analyst at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. “In the past decade, interstate migration seemed to kind of plateau a little bit. And then during the pandemic, it has increased, even as mobility overall has continued to go down.”

Architect Magazine

The Evolution of Architecture in 2023

Even on the residential side, conditions have been far from the norm. Americans spent record amounts of money—$567 billion in 2022 alone, per Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies— renovating their houses. Paired with the increased interest in building more rental and accessory dwelling units, the still-tight housing market has dampened demand for new residential designs and created an affordability crisis among consumers, incentivizing more design-oriented solutions to drive affordability.

Marketplace

More older people are still paying off mortgages

It used to be that by the time most people reached 80, their house was paid off. In 1989, just 3% of homeowners over 80 still had a mortgage. Today? It’s nearly a third. “And the balance on those mortgages is much higher, even when you adjust for inflation,” said Jennifer Molinsky at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.