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Empty nesters own some prime real estate. And they don't seem very interested in leaving it.

Dec 10, 2024
There are more than 20 million households with at least two empty bedrooms, no kids, owned and occupied for more than a decade by people over 55.
Empty nester households are commonplace in Buffalo, Cleveland or Detroit, but younger adults are preferring to live in more urban areas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

New energy projects are coming to small towns. Where will workers live?

Jul 11, 2023
The Biden administration is eyeing nuclear as one solution to ‘clean’ energy, but as a new nuclear plant moves into a rural community in Wyoming, there's another challenge — housing shortages for workers.
Kemmerer, Wyoming is known for both its prehistoric fossils and its fossil fuel industry.
Caitlin Tan for Marketplace

With housing in short supply, some resort towns pay landlords to rent to locals

Jun 1, 2023
Resort communities that saw growth during the pandemic are trying to stop the bleed of local workers being priced out.
Amber Kennedy’s roommate in the house they rent through Lease to Locals, a program that encourages property owners to rent to local workers.
Rachel Cohen

Millions of dilapidated houses sit vacant in the U.S. A Colorado college program aims to change that.

May 11, 2023
Construction students get blighted homes back on the market under the auspices of a community college program.
Jerry Begley, construction training program manager at Trinidad State College, points to the century-old earthen interior of a COPERR program project in the west end of town.
Dan Boyce

Can empty office space help solve the housing shortage?

Mar 8, 2023
Converting offices into apartments comes with challenges.
An architectural rendering shows the vision for 210 N. Charles Street in Baltimore, known as the Fidelity Building, an old office tower being converted to apartments.
Courtesy Trademark Investments

The U.S. housing shortage has doubled in less than a decade, report finds

Jul 15, 2022
A big part of the problem? A lack of new construction and municipal zoning laws that discourage or prohibit multifamily homes.
David Paul Morris/Getty Images

The hot housing market is "very bad" for this home inspector

May 25, 2022
With heightened competition to buy homes, many buyers are waiving inspections and other contingencies.
Despite the decline in business, home inspector Peter Drougas says "there's no way I'm closing down."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Homeowner groups are trying to stop investors from buying up homes

Apr 20, 2022
Investor purchases made up more than 1 in 5 home sales in December, according to CoreLogic.
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes dropped 2.7% in March from the previous month and 4.5% from March 2021.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

New Reno development highlights the city's affordable housing shortage

Feb 14, 2022
The high-end project is clearing motels that provide an informal safety net for low-income renters. Officials say the motels are rife with code violations.
Roxanne DeCarlo, executive director for The Empowerment Center, visits the site of a 42-unit apartment complex for low-income renters the center is building in November.
Bert Johnson/Mountain West News Bureau

Are ibuyers manipulating the housing market?

Sep 29, 2021
The influence of algorithms may be growing, but the larger problem is the shortage of shelter.
Real estate firms' tech-driven practice of ibuying homes has stoked controversy, but the inadequate supply of housing pushes up prices and affects millions of Americans.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images