“We have to do whatever it takes to get this house”

Apr 11, 2022
A story about falling in love with a fixer-upper log cabin in Ohio.
Matt Davison, Shay's husband, works on the wooden house they eventually purchased in 2019.
Courtesy Shay Davison

The Fed's interest rate hike is already reducing demand for mortgages

Apr 7, 2022
Getting demand to soften is the point because that's expected to help tame inflation.
Applications for home mortgages and loan refinancings are slowing down. Will inflation follow the trend?
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A Tennessee woman’s search for housing after a $500 rent hike

Apr 7, 2022
“I've never in my life not been able to afford a two-bedroom apartment on a modest salary,” said Nashville-area resident Ellen Mahurin.
Ellen Mahurin wants to stay in Williamson County so her daughter can finish up high school in the district.
Ambriehl Crutchfield/WPLN News

Higher mortgage rates could make the housing supply problem worse

Apr 1, 2022
Homebuilders already face higher prices for materials. More expensive loans could affect construction for years.
The Federal Reserve's interest rate policy is upping the cost of home construction and could constrict future inventory.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What happens when a family finally gets off the housing voucher waiting list

Mar 23, 2022
Housing vouchers can change recipients' lives but often come after years of waiting.
Kiarra Boulware with her young daughter, Brooklynn, at their apartment complex in Odenton, Maryland. A housing support program enabled them to move to a neighborhood with better conditions, including an improved educational environment for Brooklynn.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

How private equity is changing the rental market

Mar 2, 2022
Heather Vogell of ProPublica finds short term-oriented corporate investors are increasingly becoming apartment landlords.
"I think what we're seeing is that these companies are acting in ways that are problematic for tenants to meet their investment goals," said ProPublica reporter Heather Vogell.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Can The New American Home inspire builders to go green?

Mar 1, 2022
The house with three kitchens, a 12-nozzle shower for two and a tiled washing station for one lucky dog is designed as a "net-zero" energy home.
The New American Home 2022, unveiled at last month's International Builders' Show in Orlando, Florida, boasts several green building certifications.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

Aging housing stock fuels home improvement boom

Feb 23, 2022
Among the beneficiaries: Lowe's and Home Depot.
Lowe's and Home Depot, chains that sell renovation products, reported strong financial results this week. The trend is tied to the undersupply of new homes.
Mandel Ngan/AFP Getty Images

Although housing starts slid in January, more building is coming

Feb 17, 2022
As that omicron wanes and weather warms, analysts expect building to pick up. That doesn't mean it'll make a dent in the housing shortage.
Getty Images

Most of the nearly 70,000 housing vouchers Congress authorized last year remain unused

Feb 14, 2022
The pandemic response program provided billions of dollars that were meant to help get unhoused people into permanent housing.
Dale Bonanno received an emergency housing voucher as part of a pandemic program designed to move unhoused people into more permanent housing.
Gretchen Ertl