California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the state’s “yes-in-my-backyard” coalition celebrated wins this year on housing legislation. Those same pro-housing activists have now sued him over an August executive order that exempts fire-ravaged areas in Los Angeles from a 2021 state law — Senate Bill 9 — that paved the way for higher density on single-family […]
YIMBY group sues Newsom over SB 9 pause in L.A. wildfire zones Read More »
A surge in Sun Belt in-migration for well over a decade blessed Georgia with population growth that prompted a spate of apartment and home construction. Despite a heavy dose of added supply in the past few years, there was no catching up. The state still has a housing shortage, particularly in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Georgia lawmakers aim to speed housing permits for affordability Read More »
America’s housing affordability crisis is an equal-opportunity phenomenon. Nowhere is this more painfully clear than in the nation’s rural communities, which quietly confront a deepening affordability gap. Financing challenges unique to rural areas pursuing affordable housing development exacerbate a growing imbalance. A new Redfin study notes that home prices in rural communities have increased faster
As rural housing costs soar, financing affordable housing remains a hurdle Read More »
Rents for both multifamily and single-family built-to-rent units moved sideways over the last year. Still, rents in most major Sun Belt markets are down annually due to a glut of new housing, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report. Meanwhile, rental growth is typically the strongest in the Midwest, Northeast, and California. This
Glut of new supply drags down BTR and multifamily rental rates in the Sun Belt Read More »
The ROAD to Housing Act wasn’t included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released on Sunday, despite speculation that it might sneak in as an attachment to the more urgent priority $900 billion defense spending bill. Still, the bipartisan housing legislation, which enjoys widespread support in both parties, could be signed into law next
House committee is set to review Senate-approved housing bill Read More »
Nashville, one of the fastest-growing Sun Belt cities over the past decade, has been working to address the housing affordability issues that accompanied its massive economic development. Confronted with a shortage of nearly 90,000 homes, the Nashville Metro Council made its most significant move since 2018 to shape the city’s future. It passed two groundbreaking
Sweeping new zoning targets Nashville housing affordability Read More »
Trying to improve housing affordability and ease the path of development faces many hurdles that don’t always involve lawmakers. Voters can make or break efforts through ballot measures and referendums. Colorado’s small towns and Denver suburbs have become test cases in how far “not-in-my-backyard” efforts can go. While housing affordability took center stage in New
Voters reject housing reform in Colorado suburbs and resorts Read More »
I’ve been reading more articles arguing that our housing shortage is artificially created—that it’s caused by the increasing concentration of homebuilders and the decline in private homebuilders. The theory suggests that public builders are “hoarding” lots to drive prices up when they could be selling more homes and lowering prices. I initially dismissed this narrative.
Root causes: housing shortage driven by policy, not big builder concentration Read More »
With an eye on New York City voters who favored housing affordability in this month’s mayoral election, Massachusetts housing advocates are optimistic they can win at the ballot box next year with statewide rent control. The coalition group Homes for All Massachusetts collected more than enough signatures to place a local option rent control measure
Massachusetts rent control initiative gains amid affordability push Read More »
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won after campaigning on expanding rent stabilization to improve housing affordability. When he becomes mayor in January, Mamdani will face a lawsuit challenging New York’s rent stabilization law. A group of New York City landlords sued, arguing that the law sets rents too low to justify spending thousands of
NYC landlords sue over rent law as vacant units climb Read More »