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The Hottest Trends in Urban Housing

I was privileged to participate along with some very smart urban thinkers in a recent program on the resilience of cities. The subject of the Great Recession came up, and I volunteered that the persistent economic slump had hurt both good and bad development. But I offered that it had hurt bad development (land-consuming, totally automobile-dependent subdivisions on the suburban edge) more than good, given that new, speculative development in sprawling outer locations had virtually ground to a halt.

(What you see on the ground now that looks new was actually invested and entitled a decade or more ago.) Many city infill and redevelopment projects, by contrast, are going forward and even commanding market premiums for their urban locations. Housing values have declined much more, on a percentage basis, in sprawling subdivisions as compared to walkable, centrally located neighborhoods, many of which have even held steady or increased in value.

I’ve written several times about the various indicators that suggest this is so, and about some of the reasons why. What I haven’t done recently, though, is update those data. Fortunately, my friend Ben Brown of the planning and development advisory firm PlaceMakers has recently looked at the latest information and brought us all up to speed.

Kaid Benfield

Full Story: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2012/04/future-urban-housing/1672/

(Many thanks to Ray for sharing this)

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