Jonathan Smoke: “We’re in a Housing Crisis”

Chief Economist of Realtor.com Jonathan Smoke shares some alarming findings: 49 percent of renting households are cost-burdened.

The study, which came out of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, prompted Smoke to wake up local decision and policy makers. He argues that local regulations and exclusionary zoning pushes the cost of construction to a level that requires high rents.

“Yes, you finally have experienced strong economic growth, but that growth is causing some of this problem. But more important, your future growth will be threatened if the workforce that enables the economic growth can no longer afford to live or even commute to your jobs,” he writes.

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