Population change means fewer Asians are living in Chinatowns, but more Asians now own properties within them.

For over 150 years, Chinatowns have played an important role in large US cities. But, with increasing gentrification and urban change, Chinatowns are changing. In new research focusing on Chinatowns in Boston and Philadelphia, Arthur Acolin and Domenic Vitiello find that while the number of Asian residents has fallen, the share of Asian ownership has risen. Ethnic neighborhoods have important ..

Borrowing Constraints and Homeownership

This paper identifies the impact of borrowing constraints on homeownership in the U.S. in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. While homeownership declines and tightened credit are evident, the role the tightening of credit has had on the probability of individual households to become homeowners has not been previously identified. The homeownership rate in 2010-2013 is estimated to be 2.3 percentage points lower than if the constraints were set at the 2001 level

Homeownership and Nontraditional and Subprime Mortgages

This article documents the growth and geographic distribution of nontraditional mortgages (NTMs) and subprime mortgages during 2000-2006, and examines the association between these products and homeownership at the county level between 2000 and 2012. It finds a significant relationship between the origination of NTM and subprime mortgages during the boom and changes in the number of homeowners (positive during the 2000-2006 period and negative during the 2006-2012 period) but no significant relationship with the change in the homeownership rate. Looking at specific categories of the population, the results indicate a positive relationship between the presence of NTMs and subprime mortgages and increased numbers of homeowners for young households as well as for low income and minority households, but the relationship is smaller than for the general population. Overall, the relationship between NTMs and homeownership is stronger than the relationship between subprime mortgages and homeownership during the boom and it is less negative during the bust

A Renter or Homeowner Nation?

Between the 1940s and the 1960s, the U.S. homeownership rate increased by nearly 20 percentage points, from mid-40 to mid-60 percent. The self-amortizing 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, introduced by the Federal Housing Administration/Veterans Administration (VA—now the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) transformed the United States from a nation of renters to a nation of homeowners (Acolin and Wachter, 2015; Fetter, 2013)

Small-area estimates from consumer trace data

Background: Timely, accurate, and precise demographic estimates at various levels of geography are crucial for planning, policymaking, and analysis. In the United States, data from the decennial census and annual American Community Survey (ACS) serve as the main sources for subnational demographic estimates. While estimates derived from these sources are widely regarded as accurate, their timeliness is limited and variability sizable for small geographic units like towns and neighborhoods. Objective: This paper investigates the potential for using nonrepresentative consumer trace data assembled by commercial vendors to produce valid and timely estimates. We focus on data purchased from Data Axle, which contains the names and addresses of over 150 million Americans annually. Methods: We identify the predictors of over- and undercounts of households as measured with consumer trace data and compare a range of calibration approaches to assess the extent to which systematic errors in the data can be adjusted for over time. We also demonstrate the utility of the data for predicting contemporaneous (nowcasting) tract-level household counts in the 2020 Decennial Census. Results: We find that adjusted counts at the county, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA), and tract levels deviate from ACS survey-based estimates by an amount roughly equivalent to the ACS margins of error. Machine-learning methods perform best for calibration of county- and tract-level data. The estimates are stable over time and across regions of the country. We also find that when doing nowcasts, incorporating Data Axle estimates improved prediction bias relative to using the most recent ACS five-year estimates alone. Contribution: Despite its affordability and timeliness compared to survey-based measures, consumer trace data remains underexplored by demographers. This paper examines one consumer trace data source and demonstrates that challenges with representativeness can be overcome to produce household estimates that align with survey-based estimates and improve demographic forecasts. At the same time, the analysis also underscores the need for researchers to examine the limits of the data carefully before using them for specific applications

Homeownership for the Long Run

U.S. homeownership rates have largely recovered since the depths of the Great Recession, except for Black Americans. In 2019, 42 percent of Black households owned a home, compared to 73 percent of white households. Currently, about two thirds of households own their home, a rate of homeownership that has prevailed in the U.S. since mid-century. However, whether this rate can be sustained over the next decades is in question. Black and Hispanic/Latinx homeownership rates have remained far below that of the white non-Hispanic rate. In addition, the homeownership rate for younger households is now below its level prior to the 2000s housing boom and bust. In this paper, we discuss what is known about homeownership outcomes and policies: in particular, how borrowing constraints and housing affordability are impacting current homeownership outcomes; how the trajectory of homeownership rates over time from pre-Great Depression through the current period reflects lending regimes; and how future trajectories based on projected demographic trends and lending environments imply a very different future for U.S. homeownership outcomes. We also present policy interventions that could help to change the course of these trends and support sustainable access to homeownership

Homeownership for the Long Run

U.S. homeownership rates have largely recovered since the depths of the Great Recession, except for Black Americans. In 2019, 42 percent of Black households owned a home, compared to 73 percent of white households. Currently, about two thirds of households own their home, a rate of homeownership that has prevailed in the U.S. since mid-century. However, whether this rate can be sustained over the next decades is in question. Black and Hispanic/Latinx homeownership rates have remained far below that of the white non-Hispanic rate. In addition, the homeownership rate for younger households is now below its level prior to the 2000s housing boom and bust. In this paper, we discuss what is known about homeownership outcomes and policies: in particular, how borrowing constraints and housing affordability are impacting current homeownership outcomes; how the trajectory of homeownership rates over time from pre-Great Depression through the current period reflects lending regimes; and how future trajectories based on projected demographic trends and lending environments imply a very different future for U.S. homeownership outcomes. We also present policy interventions that could help to change the course of these trends and support sustainable access to homeownership

Borrowing Constraints and Homeownership

This paper identifies the impact of borrowing constraints on homeownership in the U.S. in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. While homeownership declines and tightened credit are evident, the role the tightening of credit has had on the probability of individual households to become homeowners has not been previously identified. The homeownership rate in 2010-2013 is estimated to be 2.3 percentage points lower than if the constraints were set at the 2001 level

Measuring Housing Adequacy in Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region of meetings at IPEA and IBGE with

Abstract: Brazil has largely accomplished its urban transition but housing conditions for many residents of its urban centers remain such that they have large negative effects on individual and social welfare. This report develops a comprehensive measure of housing adequacy based on seven different deficiencies and estimates the number of households living in these conditions in Sao Paulo metropolitan region over the period 2007-2013 using PNAD data. These housing situations necessitate policy responses but the nature of these interventions differs and cannot be limited to programs to build new units for owner occupancy using public subsidies. Our main departure from existing measures of housing needs is to estimate housing costs for owners using the owner equivalent rent approach and develop a measure of affordability that combines housing and transportation costs as a share of income. This first attempt to develop a comprehensive affordability indicator is limited by data constraints but indicates that the rise in the number of households spending or who would be spending more than 45 percent of their income on housing and transportation costs combined has been increasing rapidly over the period studied. Acknowledgements: The authors are extremely grateful for the expertise and support provided by Diana Motta, Director, Emplasa and her colleagues at Emplasa, particularly Vladimir Maciel and Fernanda Costa. We have also greatly benefited of the knowledge of the Brazilian housing system and of the advice given b