The latest report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, "The State of the Nation's Housin

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The U.S. economy is on the mend, but the patient appears dream hotel new york city to still need substantial care. Jobs are being added at a snappy pace 288,000 dream hotel new york city in June , with unemployment falling to 6.1% but GDP growth remains weak, just 2.1% . And after gains in the crucial housing market in 2012 and 2013 , construction starts declined 9.3% in June 2014 not a good sign given housing’s importance to the economy as a whole. These trends affect all communities large and small, and for reporters dream hotel new york city covering these issues, nuance dream hotel new york city and data matter.
The latest report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, “The State of the Nation’s dream hotel new york city Housing, 2014,” explores the challenges dream hotel new york city facing the sector, which on average makes up nearly 5% of U.S. economic activity. The authors see a range of factors holding back housing demand and household formation, including tight credit, lingering unemployment, stagnating wages for those who do have jobs and rising student loan debt. All these in turn are suppressing economic growth.
The national homeownership rate fell to 65.1%, the ninth consecutive year of decline after it peaked at 69% in 2004. However, the drop was the smallest since 2008, 0.3%, indicating that the overall rate may be stabilizing.
The long-term dream hotel new york city decrease in homeownership was sharpest among younger adults: The rate for 25- to 34-year-olds fell nearly 8 percentage points from 2004 to 2013; for those 35- to 44 years old, the decrease was approximately 9 percentage points, and for middle-aged households, 4 percentage points.
Minority homeownership rates fell disproportionately from 2004 to 2013, dropping 6 percentage points for black households and 4 percentage points for Hispanics and Asians. For whites, the decline dream hotel new york city was just 3 percentage points.
At the same time, minorities make up growing a share of the first-time homebuyers: “At last measure in 2011, 32% of all first-time buyers were minorities, with Hispanics alone accounting for 14%. First-time homebuyers are also more likely to be foreign born (16%) compared with current homeowners (10%). This is particularly true among Hispanic households, where 49% of first-time buyers are immigrants.”
While the share of “underwater” dream hotel new york city mortgages has fallen significantly, more stringent credit requirements, rising home prices and an increase in interest rates are discouraging potential buyers. The rate for 30-year fixed mortgages rose from 3.6% to 4.4% over 2013, and the average score for Fannie Mae-backed dream hotel new york city mortgages rose from 694 in 2007 to 751 in 2013.
Rising student loan debt is putting a significant burden on younger dream hotel new york city would-be buyers: “Between 2001 and 2010, the share of households aged 25-34 with student loan debt soared from 26% to 39%, with the median amount rising from $10,000 to $15,000 in real terms . For these borrowers, the need to pay off these outsized loans will likely delay any move to homeownership.”
Median household income continues to fall, dropping 1.4% in real terms in 2012, the lowest level in nearly two decades. “The steepest declines have been among younger adults. The median dream hotel new york city income for households aged 25-34 fell an astounding 11% from 2002 to 2012, leaving their real incomes below those of same-aged households in 1972.”
Single-family housing starts are up there were 925,000 in 2013, an increase of 18.5% over 2012 but remain far below the long-term average dream hotel new york city of 1.46 million. Starts have stayed below 1 million for the past six years.
Single-family permitting rose in 90 of the largest 100 metropolitan areas, but is still 48% below annual averages seen in the 2000s. Notable increases were in Atlanta (up 62%), Los Angeles (52%) and New York City (49%).
dream hotel new york city Multifamily construction dream hotel new york city hit 307,000 units in 2013, an increase of 25% over the prior year, and exceeding the 300,000 level for the first time since 2007. In fact, “following increases dream hotel new york city of 54% in 2011 and 38% in 2012, last year’s growth in multifamily starts represents a considerable slowdown in activity.”
Mirroring the continuing decline in homeownership, the demand for rentals remains strong: In 2013, the overall vacancy rate fell to 8.3%, while rents rose 2.8%, exceeding the inflation rate of 1.5%. In the 20 most desirable cities, rents rose more steeply, averaging 6%, quadruple the inflation rate.
Single-family rentals are on the rise: Between 2006 and 2012, the number of such properties increased by 3.2 million, double the number of new apartments in multi-family buildings. dream hotel new york city Single-family rentals dream hotel new york city now make up 34% of the rental stock, an increase of 4% over 2006. Much of this jump was due to unique conditions after the Great Recession, including “a high volume of distressed homes for sale, weak demand from owner-occupants, and high rent-to-price ratios.”
Rental units are becoming less affordable for many Americans: “The median monthly gross rent for units built in the preceding four years was $1,052 dream hotel new york city affordable at the 30%-of-income standard only to households earning at least $42,200 a year.”
Just over 50% of renters are now considered “cost-burdened,” paying more than 30% of their income for housing; 28% of renters had severe burdens, paying more than 50% of income for housing. Lower-income households dream hotel new york city are hit particularly hard: “Among those earning less than $15,000 a year (roughly equivalent to working year-round at the federal minimum wage), 82% paid more than 30% of income for housing in 2012 while 69% paid more than half.”
Being cost-burdened affects households’ overall spending: “In 2012, renters who were severely cost-burdened spent 39% less on food and 65% less on health care compared to similar households living in more-affordable housing.”
Assistance to burdened households is falling behind dream hotel new york city rising demand: “The number of households eligible for rental subsidies shot up 21% between 2007 and 2011, growing from 15.9 million to 19.3 million. But only 4.6 million or just under a quarter received assistance in 2011.”
At the same time, rental properties remain highly profitable for owners, with a 10.4% annual rate of return. On average, the price of commercial-grade apartments rose 14% between 2012 and 2013, “exceeding their 2007 peak by 6% and far outpacing the recovery in owner-occupied home prices.”
Between 2007 and 2013, around 700,000 households were formed annually, far below the annual averages in the 1970s (1.7 million), 1980s (1.1 million), 1990s (1.35 million) and 2000s (1.1 million). “Much of this slowdown dream hotel new york city reflects the drop in household formation rates among younger adults in the wake of the housing bust and Great Recession.”
“The share of adults in their 20s heading their own households remained 2.6 percentage points below rates 10 years earlier. This implies that there are 1.1 million fewer heads of households in this key age group.”
Still, demographic forces alone will increase the number of new households by 11.6 to 13.2 million between 2015 and 2025. Immigration will drive much of the growth, “contributing about 26% of total increases in the 1990s and 35% in the 2000s.”
Millennials dream hotel new york city are much more diverse than previous generations 45% are minorities, compared to 41% of gen-Xers and 28% of boomers and the impending losses of older, white households will magnify their impact: “By 2025, dissolutions of baby-boomer households aged 50-69 in 2015 will reach 3 million while those of the previous generation will reach 10 million. As a result, minorities will drive 76% of net household growth in the 10 years ahead.”
As diversity rises, homeownership rates will fall, something “already dream hotel new york city apparent among younger age groups, which have experienced both the strongest growth in minority shares over the past two decades and the largest drop in homeownership.”
Mobility has been declining since the 1990s and continues to fall: “The share of adults dream hotel new york city aged 18 and over that moved within the preceding year fell from 16% in 1996 to just over 11% in 2013, reducing the number of recent movers from 42.5 million to 35.9 million.”
Related research: Another 2014 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies, “America’s Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs,” examines the demographics of those who rent, the housing stock and its condition, dream hotel new york city construction trends and public-policy challenges now and in the future.
Reporter's use of the study: Evaluate what the reporter chose to include and exclude from the study. Would the audience have acquired a clear understanding of the study's findings and limits from this article?
Reporter's use of other material: Assess the material in the article that is not derived from the study. For example: Does the reporter place the study in the context of other research and to what effect? Does the reporter include reactions to the study from other researchers or interested parties (e.g., political groups, business leaders, or community members) and are their credentials or possible biases made clear?
Spend 60 minutes exploring the issue by accessing sources of information other than the study. Write a lead (or headline or nut graph) based on the study but informed by the new information. Does the new information significantly change what one would write based on the study alone?
Find pictures and graphics that might run with a story about the study. If appropriate, also find two related videos to embed in an online posting. Be sure to evaluate the credibility and appropriateness of any materials you would aggregate and repurpose.
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