Urban Planning Blog » Housing

Is foreclosure right for you?

Pratik — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:05:03 +0000

Good advice for today’s troubled times.

Buying a home cheaper than renting in most places

Pratik — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:08:25 +0000

Purchasing a home is cheaper than renting in 98 out of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, a survey by real estate site Trulia showed.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

Pratik — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:49:23 +0000

Home for Life

Pratik — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:00:34 +0000

"As one mortgage broker I recently spoke with observed, “The whole idea of buying with resale value in mind is gone. All the countertops, the backyards, all those things are meaningless.”"

People are finally buying homes to live in and not for resale.

[Link to Home for Life]

An unemployment problem with an easy solution

Pratik — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:02:29 +0000

"Right now, there are millions and millions of people who want to “employ” our “unemployed” housing stock: immigrants. Simply let more of them in and they will buy, rent, and live in these empty homes."

Could it be really that simple? Nah! We lack the political will to do it.

[Link to An unemployment problem with an easy solution]

Defending the 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Pratik — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:24:36 +0000

I am prone to write stinging rebukes to poorly written garbage on the web, but when I call someone out, I will devote the post to building a factual argument as to why they are wrong. I never ask anyone to just take my word for it because I am some kind of expert. Authority comes from the presentation of data in a compelling argument. Mindless rants don’t make authors an authority, it makes them lunatics.

[Source: Irvine Housing Blog] IrvineHunter rips apart The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle’s arguments that the 30-year Fixed-Rate Mortgage is to blame for the housing crisis. That’s what I love about blogs. They refute the so-called ignorant pundits with cold hard facts.

Affordable Housing in New York City

Pratik — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:46:41 +0000

An excellent interactive map of New York City with income levels for various neighborhoods in reference to affordable housing. Don’t even click on the Upper East Side. [Source: Envisioning Development: What is Affordable Housing?]

Making Suburbia More Livable

Pratik — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:57:25 +0000

The nation’s sprawling suburbs may have been a good place to grow up, but they’re a tough place to grow old. Here’s how towns are beginning to ‘retrofit’ their neighborhoods—and what your community might look like in the future [source].

Interesting on how changing demographics are making retrofitting suburbia almost necessary. However, this could also mean increased focus on developing communities in alternative locations with different characteristics. Housing coming a full circle?

ReBurbia

Pratik — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:23:47 +0000

In a future where limited natural resources will force us to find better solutions for density and efficiency, what will become of the cul-de-sacs, cookie-cutter tract houses and generic strip malls that have long upheld the diffuse infrastructure of suburbia? How can we redirect these existing spaces to promote sustainability, walkability, and community? It’s a problem that demands a visionary design solution

Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat.com is hosting the first ever Reburbia competition: a design competition dedicated to re-envisioning the suburbs and have just announced the finalists.

Females who rent weigh less: Survey

Pratik — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:42:19 +0000

Researchers discovered homeowners, on average, outweighed renters by 12 pounds. In addition to excess weight, female homeowners were also carrying around more aggravation, making less time for leisure, and were less likely to spend time with friends.

via
Journal of Urban Economics (under review)
.