A recent study by the Joint Center on Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) confirms many of the findings of insight2050, a collaborative initiative among public and private partners in the Columbus Region designed to help communities proactively plan for population growth over the next 30 years that is expected to be dramatically different from the past.

According to JCHS’s 2015 State of the Nation’s Housing report:

• Homeownership rates continue to decline across all age groups, single-family construction remains at historic lows and existing home sales have cooled.
• The sharpest decline in homeownership rates occurred among 35-44 year olds or generation X who were in their first time home buying years before the housing crash and took the greatest hit when prices plummeted leaving them with little equity.
• Because this age group has traditionally accounted for a large share of the trade-up market, the decline in their homeownership rates has meant a weaker owner-occupied segment.
• Meanwhile, rental household growth experienced its best 10-year period since the late 1980s, the rental vacancy rate is at its lowest point in nearly 20 years and rents have risen by nearly twice the pace of overall inflation.

These trends mirror what has happened across the Columbus Region as well and underscore the importance of insight2050 in helping communities adapt to changes in demographics and housing preferences. Because the majority of our population growth is expected to occur among Baby Boomers and Millennials, typically households without children, market demand is expected to increase for walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use environments and smaller residences and decrease for single family detached homes.

Learn more about insight2050

Read the 2015 State of the Nation’s Housing

Written By:

Chris Magill
ULI Columbus Communications Committee Member
Economic Development Director, IceMiller

and

Cheryl Pentella
ULI Columbus Communications Committee Chair
Principal at Pentella Unlimited