Publications
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Housing in the U.S. Floodplains
This brief, presented in conjuction with FloodzoneData.us describes characteristics about the housing stock located in the U.S. floodplains. Between 2011 and 2015, five percent of all occupied housing units in the United States were located in the 100-year floodplain, and 10 percent were located in combined (100- and 500-year) floodplains. The brief details factors that are important to understand when assessing the risk from flooding and the challenges of retrofitting, including the shares that are rental and owner-occupied, the age of the housing, and whether the housing is government subsidized.
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How Do Small Area FMRs Affect the Location and Number of Units Affordable to Voucher Holders?
This brief explores how the location and number of homes affordable to voucher holders will change in the 24 metro areas mandated by HUD to adopt Small Area Fair Market Rents (“Small Area FMRs”). The change to Small Area FMR—a more localized rent measures as a determinant of subsidy standards—is designed to allow housing choice voucher holders to rent homes in a wider variety of areas. The analysis finds that switching to Small Area FMRs would open up options for voucher holders in high-rent ZIP Codes while reducing them in low-rent ZIP Codes. In addition, the aggregate number of units affordable to voucher holders in these 24 metros would increase with the use of Small Area FMRs.
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How NYCHA Preserves Diversity in New York’s Changing Neighborhoods
A new fact brief published by the NYU Furman Center outlines the critical role that the public housing plays in preserving racial, ethnic, and economic diversity in the city’s gentrifying and higher-income neighborhoods. The brief builds on previous work by the NYU Furman Center outlining NYCHA’s outsized role in housing the lowest-income New Yorkers. That crucial role in the affordable housing landscape combined with the geographic distribution of public housing developments in gentrifying neighborhoods means that many of the city’s neighborhoods owe their diversity to NYCHA’s public housing developments.
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Katherine M. O’Regan Testimony to U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Hearing on Affordable Housing
On Tuesday, August 1, 2017, Dr. Katherine O’Regan, faculty of NYU Wagner and Faculty Director at the NYU Furman Center, testified at the United State Senate Committee on Finance’s hearing entitled, “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions.” Dr. O’Regan’s statement outlines the extent of the nation’s affordable housing crisis and its consequences for households and markets. In discussing the federal government’s role in responding to the crisis, she discusses three proposed reforms to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to “increase its flexibility and feasibility in a broader set of market conditions, to streamline, and to more effectively meet key policy goals.” Read Dr. O'Regan's full statement or watch a video of the hearing.
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Key Findings on the Affordability of Rental Housing from New York City’s HVS 2008
Every three years, the U.S. Census Bureau releases the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS), which assesses changes in various aspects of New York City’s housing and neighborhoods. The primary goal of the survey is to estimate the rental vacancy rate in the City, but the survey also provides valuable insight into other trends in the housing stock. However, the data are released in a format that is hard to understand without statistical software. In order to make the findings available to a wider audience, we have analyzed the data about New York City’s neighborhoods and compiled this summary of noteworthy trends.
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Locating Landlords: An Analysis of Rental Property Registration Compliance in New York City
In emergency situations like Hurricane Sandy, the city’s system for tracking rental property owners can serve as a crucial resource. However, a new Furman Center report finds that the vast majority of landlords required to register with the city fail to do so. Only 23 percent of rental properties are registered with the city, and only 61 percent of NYC’s renters live in buildings with current registrations. The report outlines strategies for boosting rental registration to help make the registration ordinance a fully effective resource, including greater outreach and stronger penalties.
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Mortgage Lending During the Great Recession: HMDA 2009
While home purchase mortgage lending declined throughout the recession, new research released by the Furman Center finds that ending to low and moderate income homebuyers actually increased in 2009, as did the number of new mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veteran’s Administration (VA). The new data brief, Mortgage Lending During the Great Recession: HMDA 2009, finds that 16 percent of the 2009 New York City home purchase mortgages were FHA/VA-backed loans. By comparison, those type of loans accounted for less than one percent of home mortgage loans issued from 2005 to 2007.
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Mortgage Lending to Vulnerable Communities: A Closer Look at HMDA 2009
Across the U.S., the number of home purchase mortgages issued to low- and moderate-income borrowers jumped by 26 percent in 2009, even as overall home purchase lending declined, new research released by the Furman Center finds. The data brief, Mortgage Lending to Vulnerable Communities: A Closer Look at HMDA 2009, finds that lending to low- and moderate-income homebuyers increased nationwide in 2009, despite a reduction in the number of home purchase mortgages issued to higher income borrowers. Lending in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, on the other hand, did not see a similar increase.
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New York City Quarterly Housing Update 2010: 3rd Quarter
In an analysis of third quarter housing indicators, the Furman Center finds that home sales declined between the second to third quarter of 2010, but the foreclosure crisis appears to be slowing citywide. The Quarterly Housing Update, which uses six key indicators of housing market performance from a variety of data sources, is the only New York City housing report to incorporate sales data, development indicators, and foreclosures. It also presents a repeat sales index for each borough to capture price appreciation while controlling for housing quality.
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New York City Quarterly Housing Update 2010: 4th Quarter
In an analysis of fourth quarter housing indicators, the Furman Center finds that home prices outside of Manhattan are still in decline, but foreclosures are down citywide. The Quarterly Housing Update, which uses six key indicators of housing market performance from a variety of data sources, is the only New York City housing report to incorporate sales data, development indicators, and foreclosures. It also presents a repeat sales index for each borough to capture price appreciation while controlling for housing quality.