Lab 029: The Roof is on Fire!

About This Episode

This episode unpacks the current housing crisis in across the United States. We knew there was a housing shortage before, but how did things get this bad?

Understanding the Housing Landscape

• The Aspen Institute initially predicted ~20 million renters were at risk of eviction in June 2020.

• Multiple studies use different models to predict the state of housing by September, and some estimates are as high as 39.9 millions Americans at risk of eviction.

  • At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people employed in the US fell by 20.5 million, and the unemployment rate sky rocketed to 14.7%. This affected all job sectors, but the largest decline was in leisure and hospitality.

  • The health crisis became a housing crisis as ~1/3 of Americans failed to make a full housing payment in June 2020.

• There was a housing shortage before COVID-19.

  • According to the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard, low vacancy rates pushed rental prices up faster than income rates.

  • Map America’s housing crisis

  • Pre-COVID, many renters facing eviction owed less than $600

• Federal housing assistance has basically remained flat even though the pressures have increased, and the spending is unequally distributed.

  • Of the $190 billion the US government spent to help Americans secure housing, they favor higher-income households and support homeownership over renting.

Disproportionate Impact

• COVID-19 widens housing disparities by race and income

  • People of color are experiencing job loss at higher rates

• New mortgage penalties prompted by the Federal Housing Administration and other government-sponsored enterprises block ~250,000 borrowers from accessing historically low mortgage rates

• Racial disparities of evictions

  • Discrimination in evictions

  • Baltimore, Eviction Lab

Support

• Framework for COVID-19 targeted housing assistance

• Tool to find your local, state, and government policies around eviction

• Get involved locally or at the national level

I was just at a UHaul store & it was a NIGHTMARE. Dozens of trucks parked wherever they could fit, blankets/trash on the ground outside, trucks with people's stuff still inside, etc.

You could *feel* the panic in the air around you.

This is what an eviction crisis looks like. pic.twitter.com/GeDWfPTa8H

— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) August 16, 2020

Guest Expert, Michael Neal

Michael Neal is a senior researcher at the Urban Institute, and his background spans economics, finance, and policy. Recently, he focused on housing, spending time at the National Association of Home Builders and Fannie Mae. He’s basically the perfect expert for this lab.

Listen

You can listen to Lab 029: The Roof is on Fire! on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.