Housing Trends

Despite the housing market's great bust of 2006 and the current foreclosure tidal wave, housing affordability is as relevant as ever for most Americans. Rapidly growing populations around the country through the last two decades have caused housing to encroach on…and take over… prime farmland outside of cities.

In cities which are losing population (Detroit, Oakland and Philadelphia), unused city land is increasingly playing host to community gardens and urban farms. In expensive cities such as New York, Seattle and San Francisco, some locals are paying for the privilege of having an apartment or condo garden "farmed" by local green thumbs.

Houses in the country’s most desirable locations have always been expensive, and that’s not likely to change. Unless, of course, homebuilders decrease housing unit sizes to be more in line with average housing sizes in Europe or Asia -- or American cities of the past.

Many of our citizen writers mention being tired of commuting to and from suburbs. Thanks to higher energy prices and changing demographics, cities are becoming far more attractive to aging baby boomers, young families and singles alike. Cities with higher public transit availability, better air quality, jobs and a coastal location are likely to be even more enticing, and thus expensive, in the future.

For related reading, see the Brookings Institute's recent book Boomburbs: The Rise of America's Accidental Cities.

<< Green Economy | Knowledge & Communications >>