State of the Nation’s Housing Report Outlines Major Challenges

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released The State of The Nation’s Housing 2020 report, stating that 2020 has been among the most difficult years in American history, citing COVID-19, the movement for racial justice, and the impacts of climate change as challenges to housing.

“In all this upheaval, the nation’s housing challenges have never been so evident—particularly the lack of affordable rental housing, unequal access to good-quality homes, and the vulnerability of much of the housing stock to natural disasters,” the report says.

The report outlines worsening affordability for renters, the pandemic’s effect on homeowners, persistent racial disparities in housing markets, and the devastating effects of climate change.

“All of these sources of distress have important ties to longstanding housing policy issues. The hope is, now that these challenges are so clearly in the spotlight, we can finally re-envision a national housing policy and recommit to the goal to a decent home in a suitable living environment for all,” a press release regarding the report concludes. It also addresses the potential for housing to lead the economic recovery and makes a case of a new national housing agenda.

Click here to find the full report and to view the video presentation.