Predicting Mobility: Who Is Forced to Move?

We use the 2013 American Housing Survey to examine which households are more likely to experience a forced move compared to a voluntary move. We examine how household vulnerability varies by racial and socioeconomic stratification, as well as other household demographics among homeowners and renters. We analyze household-level predictors of experiencing an inclusively defined forced move, including moves caused by disasters, private and government displacement, and eviction (for renters) or foreclosure (for homeowners). Comparing an inclusive definition of displacement to voluntary mobility, we find that lower levels of education, income, and the presence of a disabled household member increase the likelihood of displacement for homeowners. Among renters, the presence of children, older households, and being native-born increase the odds of displacement, but a female-headed household reduces them. When examining type-specific displacement, we find variation in who is most susceptible to experience a forced move.

Can the Nation’s Housing Support a Population Seeking to Age in Place?

While surveys report that most older adults wish to “age in place,” the nation’s current housing and neighborhoods fall short on several dimensions needed to support independence and health in later life. Drawing from national data (including the American Housing Survey, American Community Survey, Health and Retirement Survey, and Survey of Consumer Finances), we describe the current housing and living situations of older adults and key challenges they face in securing affordable, accessible housing while also securing supportive services. We identify three challenges: the unaffordability of housing, which causes budgetary tradeoffs in healthcare spending; a lack of accessibility features in homes and neighborhoods, which can limit independence and safety, and the low-density location of much of the US housing stock (including that inhabited by older adults), where service delivery is difficult and the potential for isolation is high. We conclude with an overview of the policy implications of these challenges.

Local economic conditions and the nature of new housing supply

We explore the effects of local economic conditions on the type and size of newly constructed housing units in a city. Exploiting the 1984–2004 metro area samples of the American Housing Survey and US Census building permit data from 1980 to 2018, we find that positive local income shocks (i) increase a city’s share of multi-family housing in new construction and (ii) trigger the construction of smaller units. These responses are driven by migration. Our findings are consistent with a modified open monocentric city model that more realistically assumes land is available for conversion into new housing throughout the city.

Black-White Disparities in Pediatric Asthma in Metropolitan Areas, 2015: Assessing the Roles of Residential Inequality and Segregation

Little research has explored how black-white residential inequality and residential segregation are associated and moderate black-white disparities in pediatric asthma. This paper contributes to this limited literature by using data for children in the 2015 American Housing Survey Metropolitan samples. Controlling for black-white inequalities in residential characteristics, segregation, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics, we find that the black-white disparity in pediatric asthma remains and slightly widens. We also find that the level of segregation, as measured by the index of dissimilarity and black isolation, moderates the association between children’s race and asthma. In areas with lower levels of dissimilarity and black isolation, whites’ predicted probabilities of asthma are greater than those of black children. However, when the index of dissimilarity is at least 60% and the black isolation is at least 50%, the racial disparity reverses, and black children’s predicted probabilities of asthma are significantly higher than those of whites.

Rental Housing Spot Markets: How Online Information Exchanges Can Supplement Transacted-Rents Data

Traditional U.S. rental housing data sources such as the American Community Survey and the American Housing Survey report on the transacted market—what existing renters pay each month. They do not explicitly tell us about the spot market—that is, the asking rents that current homeseekers must pay to acquire housing—though they are routinely used as a proxy. This study compares governmental data to millions of contemporaneous rental listings and finds that asking rents diverge substantially from these most recent estimates. Conventional housing data understate current market conditions and affordability challenges, especially in cities with tight and expensive rental markets.

Rental Housing Spot Markets: How Online Information Exchanges Can Supplement Transacted-Rents Data

Traditional US rental housing data sources such as the American Community Survey and the American Housing Survey report on the transacted market—what existing renters pay each month. They do not explicitly tell us about the spot market—i.e., the asking rents that current homeseekers must pay to acquire housing—though they are routinely used as a proxy. This study compares governmental data to millions of contemporaneous rental listings and finds that asking rents diverge substantially from these most recent estimates. Conventional housing data understate current market conditions and affordability challenges, especially in cities with tight and expensive rental markets.