Housing

Housing matters. A stable, quality, affordable home is a foundation for so many other parts of life. How do we bring it in reach for everyone?

After the Fire: Bronx Residents Return to Building that Burned

A deadly fire in an affordable housing complex in the Bronx was said to have been caused by a space heater. But a pattern of negligence created the conditions for the tragedy, and made the fire more deadly.

The Racists Next Door: Black Homebuyers Face Discrimination After Purchasing, Too

The danger of unwelcoming neighbors should not be underestimated.

Going Home: LGBTQ Renters Find Housing on Facebook

Niche groups on Facebook help the LGBTQ community find affordable housing with folks who share their values.
YIMBY Action members chant over activists of color during an counter protest in California.

Have the YIMBYs Evolved?

Yes in My Back Yard activists started with a simple—and some would say simplistic—argument: to solve the nation’s housing crisis we just need to build more housing, of any type and in as many places as possible. But as the movement nears a decade of existence, some of its members argue that their message has become more nuanced.

Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.

Texas-based RealPage’s YieldStar software helps landlords set prices for apartments across the U.S. With rents soaring, critics are concerned that the company’s proprietary algorithm is hurting competition.
A ribbon-cutting for two newly renovated rowhomes on Westmont Street in North Philadelphia. Pictured is a family cutting a ribbon. They are surrounding by lots of people in masks.

New Philly Land Trust Was Promised Dozens of Homes; How’s It Going?

Two years ago, Philadelphia officials agreed to give 59 vacant buildings to homeless advocates. The historic deal has faced several setbacks, but is still moving forward.

Corporate Landlords Profit from Segregation, at Cost of Black Homeownership and Wealth

As more and more affordable homes are gobbled up by corporate landlords, prospective Black homebuyers are seeing opportunities for homeownership dry up.

The Cost of Not Going Co-op

Buying your mobile home park could save you money: Residents fare better when they cooperatively own their parks.

Mid-Lease Rent Hikes Surprise Affordable Housing Tenants

Residents of two LIHTC developments in Northern Virginia were informed that their rent would be increasing in 30 days, even if their leases weren’t ending for months. Is this part of a larger problem?

Income Averaging Allowed LIHTC Housing to Reach More People—Will It Last?

 A Trump-era policy that actually helped poor people could be dismantled by the IRS.

ESG … and T? Tenant Protections Fly Under the Impact Investing Radar

To meaningfully evaluate real estate-related companies, organizations that evaluate impact investment standards must address tenant experiences.

“My City’s So White, I Moved”

We sit down with Carlynn Newhouse, a spoken word artist, to discuss her latest poem on gentrification in Seattle and D.C.

Press ‘Record’ To Catch Fair Housing Violators—If You Can

Fair housing testers often go undercover to expose discriminatory housing practices, but laws prohibiting recording conversations hamper investigations

How to Retrofit the Housing Economy

Are policy changes enough to address the housing problems we face?

When Landlords Hide Behind LLCs

It’s difficult to know who owns a property because corporate landlords and investors tend to structure their business as limited liability companies, or LLCs.

Breaking NYC’s Housing Speculation Cycle

When wealthy investors treat homes like poker chips, it is the tenants who end up losing. How do we interrupt the vicious cycle of speculation and displacement?

A Way for Investors to Save Affordable Housing, Not Harm It

Investors have helped preserve more than 1,700 affordable housing units in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
An illustration of homes on a conveyor belt going through a machine and coming out as golden homes. Green dollar bills are coming out of the homes. This illustrates the financialization of housing.

The Financialization of Housing and Its Implications for Community Development

Over the last two decades homeowners and investors have increasingly treated housing as a financial asset, like stocks or bonds. How has this changed the housing market for the worse, and how can we fix it?
An illustration showing the word "financialization" in a bubble.

What Is the Financialization of Housing?

It's a wonky term with real-life consequences. At its most basic level, the "financialization of housing" means treating a home like a financial asset first, and a place to live second. But there are many more perspectives.

This Manufactured Home Park Will Soon Be Boat Storage, But One Resident Stays to...

Angela Kaufman purchased what she thought would be her longtime home in a mobile home community. Less than a year after she moved, the park was sold and residents were told they had to go.