The National Association of Realtors has agreed to settle a series of lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and by eliminating its rules on a standard 6 percent sales commission, according to The New York Times. The settlement might mean that…
Tag: Housing
Experts Available on Biden State of the Union Housing Proposal
During tonight’s State of the Union address, President Biden is expected to unveil a new policy proposal to provide $5000 tax credits to first-time home buyers, as well as $10,000 credits to those selling their starter homes. For reporters covering…
25 innovative solutions to the housing affordability crisis
Each year since 2018, Ivory Innovations has recognized organizations working on solutions to the lack of affordable housing in the United States.
Study finds LA County pilot program to aid gravely disabled residents could improve housing, hospitalization rates
A UCLA Health-led evaluation of Los Angeles County’s pilot program aimed at bolstering aid to gravely disabled homeless residents found the initiative could offer a promising framework to improve housing and health outcomes for this vulnerable population while also relieving overburdened psychiatric hospitals.
Innovative urban living concept tackles housing woes and offers socially connected solutions
Co-locating homes on single suburban allotments to create smaller and more socially connected living options could help address the nation’s housing crisis, according to a University of South Australia researcher.
New Model Adds Human Reactions to Flood Risk Assessment
Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a land change model that simulates interactions between urban growth, increased flooding and how humans adapt in response. The new model could offer a more realistic assessment of risk for urban planners, natural resource managers and other local government stakeholders.
Private renting is making you age faster
A new study, jointly conducted by the University of Adelaide and University of Essex, has found that renting, rather than owning, a private-sector home leads to faster biological ageing.
National Academies report identifies ways to reduce intergenerational poverty in US
Irvine, Calif., Sept. 25, 2023 — A report released Thursday, Sept. 21, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies evidence-based programs and policies, such as increased K-12 spending for school districts serving low-income students, to combat intergenerational poverty in the United States.
Once Upon a Skyline: The Story of Las Vegas Strip Architecture
Hospitality design expert Glenn NP Nowak on the tech-loaded MSG Sphere’s impact on Strip and residential architecture, and how UNLV is prepping the next generation of creators.
Nearly 1 million assistance calls made to 211 in August
In August 2023, Americans made nearly a million calls for help to the 211 emergency resources helpline, according to 211 Counts, a national tracking system in 36 states developed by the Brown School’s Health Communication Research Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis.
Two-Thirds of U.S. Adults Receive Parental Support Into Their 40s
A new study finds that only a third of adults in the United States did not rely on their parents for some form of material support between their late teens and early 40s.
Still separate and unequal: How subsidized housing exacerbates inequality
New sociology research from Elizabeth Korver-Glenn at Washington University in St. Louis finds Black and Latino subsidized renters live in homes with more unsafe conditions while simultaneously paying more, both total cost and relative to their income.
Escaping exploitation with nowhere to go: Barriers in accommodating survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery
Survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery are struggling to find places to live with some people becoming homeless and facing risks of re-entering exploitative environments.
House of moveable wooden walls unveiled, promising a cheaper, greener alternative to ‘knocking through’.
University of Cambridge architects are inviting visitors to the London Design Biennale to experience a prototype home constructed with flexible wooden partition walls which can be shifted to meet the changing needs of residents.
Rental housing standards a threat to resident health and wellbeing
A large proportion of Australian rental properties are in such poor condition that they are putting residents’ health and wellbeing at risk, according to new research from the University of South Australia.
Five personal finance concepts everyone should master
Experts from the University of Delaware’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship suggest five financial skills everyone needs to learn about and use. The experts said teaching these skills can help build responsible, financially secure citizens.
Housing plays key role in disaster preparedness
Researchers focus a lot of attention on how disasters such as hurricanes and floods affect people’s housing in the United States. But a new national study found that housing is also important before disasters happen: People with homes not meeting federal quality classifications and those who are housing insecure tend to be less prepared to face natural calamities.
Real estate expert spells out what home buyers should pay attention to in volatile housing market
During the housing boom of 2022, homes were selling for well above list price and buyers had to compete for what little was available, but that boom has gone bust, brought low by high interest rates, or so the headlines…
New UC San Diego Model Predicts Housing Prices to Fall as much as 18% this Year
A new model of forecasting home prices based on consumer demand predicts that prices for housing will decrease by 5% nationally and 12% in San Diego County by the end of this year. The model, which highlights online search activity, was recently published in a new study from the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management.
Biden’s housing announcement ‘unlikely to change much’ for tenants
As housing prices soar, the Biden administration says it is taking significant steps to protect tenants and make rental prices more affordable. Laura Tach, professor of housing policy at Cornell University, says that while the announcement is significant, the actions are…
Researchers will harness machine learning to provide residents with personalized warnings for heat emergencies
An automated heat alert system built using innovative machine learning technology could improve preparedness for extreme heat. A research team lead by Iowa State University has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to gather data and develop an automated heat warning system for susceptible Des Moines neighborhoods.
Transforming data to solve community problems
This summer, Iowa State University students worked on projects addressing local and state government challenges across Iowa, including employment for people with disabilities, analyzing local housing needs, wholesale local food price benchmarking and more.
Study paves way for widespread architectural use of end-of-life tyres
A new study by The University of South Australia has tested and verified the structural integrity of walls constructed from tyres packed with earth, with the results potentially providing new opportunities for the reuse of end-of-life tyres in the construction industry.
Study Examines Health Benefits of Affordable Housing-Based Services in NYC
The JPB Foundation has provided a sizeable grant to the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to fund a three-year study examining the impact of social, environmental, and health-related services in affordable housing settings on residents’ health and quality of life.
More than half of Utah’s households unable to afford median home price, report shows
The State of the State’s Housing Market report, released today by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, shows that more than half of Utah’s households are now unable to afford the median-home priced home in 2021.
Study Explores the Role of Landlords in Housing Discrimination
How does race influence the way landlord-gatekeepers screen and differentiate among prospective tenants in racially homogeneous rental markets?
Eviction Crisis: Maryland Carey Law Heeds Attorney General’s Call to Assist At-Risk Renters
The United States Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow evictions to resume could affect millions of Americans. On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland urged legal professionals to help address eviction filings expected to spike to nearly prepandemic levels. Students at…
New Study Finds that Countries’ Wealth Inequality is Independent from Income Inequality and Linked to the Distribution of Housing Equity
A new study in the American Sociological Review shows that comparing countries in terms of their wealth inequality instead of income inequality provides a fundamentally different picture of nations’ relative level of economic inequality.
What’s next: The ongoing urban exodus
Many employees have come to prefer working from home after being forced to do so more than a year ago when the pandemic started. By some estimates, at least one-quarter of employees will still be working remotely multiple days a week at the end of 2021. For those whose jobs allow it, being untethered from the office might mean moving farther away from it – by a few miles or a few hundred.
UHN announces first-in-Canada Social Medicine Modular Housing in Parkdale, in partnership with the City and United Way Greater Toronto
University Health Network (UHN) and the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, in partnership with the City of Toronto and United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT), are creating what is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, Social Medicine Supportive Housing site in Parkdale, Toronto.
Multi-story buildings made of wood sell for 9% more than other construction in Helsinki
Building more homes and buildings with wood has been on the radar for years as a way to offset carbon emissions, though construction companies have been hesitant to take the material in broader use. A study at Aalto University in Finland is now the first to show that building with wood can be a sound investment.
‘Not a local affair’: Evanston reparations could harm national movement
On Monday night the city of Evanston, Illinois approved the nation’s first government-run reparations program that would make funds available to Black families for homeownership and mortgage assistance. Olúfémi Táíwò, professor of Africana studies at Cornell University, is authoring a…
UIC Urban Forum to address wealth gap, equity concerns
New York Times best-selling author Heather McGhee to deliver keynote for virtual event April 14
CSU CalFresh Outreach Supports Students’ Basic Needs
CSU campuses hosted CalFresh Outreach Week to raise awareness of expanded nutrition program for students.
Chicago’s racial wealth gap examined in new UIC report
Interviews by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy highlight the precarity of many Black and Latino families who have ‘made it’
UCLA Research Suggests COVID-19-related Evictions Will put Californians’ Healthcare at Risk
UCLA Research Suggests COVID-19-related Evictions Will put Californians’ Healthcare at Risk
The team, made up of researchers from across UCLA and Cedars-Sinai, including Frederick Zimmerman, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of health policy and management, found those who move, even if voluntarily, face reduced access to prescribed drugs and medical services
WashU Expert: Aid package will only postpone inevitable housing crisis
As part of the new $900 billion federal stimulus package, the moratorium on evictions for renters will be extended by one month, through the end of January. The help could not come soon enough, said an expert on social and economic development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.However, without more intentional, long-term solutions and investments, this aid will only postpone an inevitable housing crisis, she said a new survey shows.
UNC Charlotte Study Finds Success in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Efforts to End Homelessness
A new comprehensive study from UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute, College of Health and Human Services and School of Social Work shows an effective approach to ending chronic homelessness that helps those in need and benefits communities.
Building cities with wood would store half of cement industry’s current carbon emissions
Shifting to wood as a building construction material would significantly reduce the environmental impact of building construction. If 80% of new residential buildings in Europe were made of wood inside and out, they would store the equivalent of about half of the cement industry’s annual emissions.
Forty per cent of renters can’t afford essentials under COVID-19
Almost 40% of Australian tenant households can’t afford essentials such as bills, clothing, transport and food, after paying rent, because their incomes have reduced significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has found.
Turning hotels into emergency shelter as part of COVID-19 response limited spread of coronavirus, improved health and stability
A King County, Washington, initiative to relocate people from homeless shelters to hotel rooms during the pandemic not only limited the spread of COVID-19, but also improved people’s mental health and well-being, and allowed them to focus on long-term goals.
Associate Professor Craig Pollack Named Inaugural Endowed Chair at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Nursing and Public Health
The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announce the appointment of Craig Pollack, MD, MHS, as inaugural chair of the Katey Ayres Endowed Professorship.Funded through a generous gift from JHSON Class of 1967 Alumna Katey Ayres—and matched by the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund—the professorship will tackle the complex intersection of housing and social services and their impact on health.
Researchers to study effects of landlord decisions during pandemic
A rapid response grant from the National Science Foundation will allow an Iowa State University research team to study how landlord decision-making has contributed to rental housing instability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Land Development in New Jersey Continues to Slow
Land development in New Jersey has slowed dramatically since the 2008 Great Recession, but it’s unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to fight societal and housing inequality will affect future trends, according to a Rutgers co-authored report. Between 2012 and 2015, 10,392 acres in the Garden State became urban land. That’s 3,464 acres a year – far lower than the 16,852 acres per year in the late 1990s and continuing the trend of decreasing urban development that began in the 2008 Great Recession.
A government program that reduces mortgage defaults
Lower-income households that received mortgages through state affordable mortgage programs were less likely to default or foreclose than similar households that received conventional financing, a national study found.
Terms in Seattle-area rental ads reinforce neighborhood segregation, study says
A new University of Washington study of Seattle-area rental ads shows how certain words and phrases are common to different neighborhoods, helping to reinforce residential segregation.
Vulnerable Populations: How Will They Cope and Adapt This Hurricane Season?
Researchers will study areas that include counties in south and central Florida and the Panhandle, which are still recovering from Hurricanes Michael and Irma, and which saw an influx of displaced individuals from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. They will examine resilience of individuals and households, including their coping and adaptive capacities during a busy hurricane season in the midst of pandemic. The research will advance knowledge on several topics related to housing, health and hazards.
Study shows demolishing vacant houses can have positive effect on neighbor maintenance
New research out of Iowa State University suggests that demolishing abandoned houses may lead nearby property owners to better maintain their homes.
WashU Expert: Eviction moratoriums are incomplete solution
Millions of tenants are at risk of eviction as protections in the CARES Act are set to expire. While the U.S. Congress and Senate are proposing plans to extend the federal moratorium on evictions, a finance expert at Washington University in St. Louis warns that is just one piece of the puzzle.
Keck Medicine of USC and USC Launch Care for the Caregiver Program to Assist Staff During COVID-19 Pandemic
Keck Medicine of USC and USC have launched a comprehensive program to ease the job stress that Keck Medicine health care workers are experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic