Continued deterioration in U.S. housing affordability – particularly at the low end of the market and for renters – is bringing to light a number of problems around income growth and social mobility that may have big implications for all Americans going forward.
Social Mobility May Suffer as Income Growth Fails to Keep Pace With Rising Housing Costs
The United States has long cherished its hard-earned reputation as the land of opportunity. But for millions working to ensure their children can move up the socio-economic ladder, rapidly rising housing costs are threatening instead to kick the ladder out from underneath them, limiting their potential social mobility.
How Land-Use Regulation Impacts Inventory, Rents and Roommates
In many American cities, more means more – and not in a particularly good way. Tighter land-use regulation in these cities is associated with more rapidly rising rents, more acute shortages of homes for sale and more adults living with roommates in the face of rising housing costs and fewer housing options.
South Lake Union’s Tech Boom a Small Part of Seattle’s Rising Rents
Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood has become synonymous with the city’s rapidly evolving economic and social landscape. The neighborhood has attracted major employers, and cranes crowd the skyline of the former industrial district wedged between the city’s downtown and iconic Space Needle.
New Commerce Department Data Usability Project Sheds Light on Zillow Data
At the recent Strata-Hadoop Big Data World Conference in San Jose, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews unveiled a collaboration between Zillow and the Commerce Department’s Data Usability Project. The project is part of a new Commerce Department initiative to publish code and data visualizations that combine local, state and federal data with data from private sources like Zillow.
In Denver, Past Housing Performance Is No Guarantee of Future Housing Returns
Denver’s rapid growth has given rise to increasing concerns over both the availability and affordability of housing in the city itself. In response, the city has developed plans and proposals to try to ensure enough housing while also keeping housing cost burdens manageable. But do the city’s current plans go far enough? Yes and no.
February Case-Shiller Forecast: More of the Same, But Slightly Slower
The January Case-Shiller indices grew at the exact same annual pace as December. Looking ahead, expect all three February Case-Shiller indices to show similar but slightly slower slower growth, with the 10-City Composite Index expected to register sub-5 percent annual growth for the first time in months, according to Zillow's February Case-Shiller forecast.
January Case-Shiller: Home Prices Started 2016 the Same Way they Ended 2015
Year-over-year home price growth at the start of 2016 looked identical to the end of 2015, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (SPCS). Today, all three headline SPCS indices registered annual growth in January at the same pace as that recorded in December.
Making It Work in the Mile-High City: Denver’s Rapidly Growing – and Changing – Job Market
Denver today is one of America’s fastest-growing and hottest markets, a far cry from the largely rough-and-tumble and relatively slow-moving mountain metro it was even 15 years ago. And as the city has changed, so too has its job market.
February Market Report: Peeking at Home Value Peaks
Median home values in more than a quarter of the nation’s metro housing markets are currently, or were recently (within the last year), at peak and as high as they’ve ever been, according to the February Zillow Real Estate Market Report. But what do home value peaks really mean?
