Kent Dussair
CDS Community Development Strategies

​Why is the mobile home segment of the housing market so important and yet so maligned by society? The answer is a combination of ignorance, misconceptions, and images from the past where the “trailer trash” notion has been widely portrayed in movies and on television. Realistic vestiges of those images do remain. But today, many mobile home neighborhoods have cleaned up their act, while still providing housing at a very low cost. Without this layer of low cost housing, America would have a much larger number of subsidized renters (or even homeless).  Although monthly rental costs for a mobile home vary by quality of location and park amenities, in most markets a family can have a three-bedrooms, two-bath home with a yard for approximately one-half the cost of living in an apartment. 

J. Kirby Snideman, AICP
CDS Community Development Strategies

Multigenerational housing is making a comeback. After decades of decline, the number of Americans living in multigenerational households dropped to roughly 26 million in 1970. Since then it’s more than doubled; currently there are an estimated 60 million Americans (18%) living in a home with three or more generations. This article examines the reasons behind this trend and also provides a look at the new types of homes being built to accommodate multigenerational families. 

According to data from the American Community Survey (ACS), the number of Americans living in multigenerational households in 2012 was 57 million, or 18.1% of the total population. These 57 million Americans occupied 4.3 million homes. That accounted for 5.6% of all occupied homes in the United States. That’s up from 3.7% of occupied homes in 2000.
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Multigenerational households were more common at the beginning of the last century, but declined significantly following World War II. During this time the United States experienced a period of economic expansion which manifested itself in widespread suburban development and an increased supply of single family homes. With home ownership as national policy, mortgages became widely available. In addition, suburban growth and a ready supply of spec homes across the nation accommodated a highly mobile workforce, resulting in many families being spread across several states. 

Steve Spillette
CDS Community Development Strategies

​Much has been said recently about the relationship between Houston and the price of oil. While most agree that the local economy is more robust than it once was, many are still wondering just how big an impact low oil prices will have. One way to answer this question is to look at how the region was impacted by high oil prices in the recent past. The synopsis: it added over 100,000 six-figure income households—something future growth is not expected to duplicate any time soon. 

Brenda Crenshaw
CDS Community Development Strategies

If you're anything like me and my friends, you watch Tiny House Hunters on HGTV and wonder how someone could possibly fit their life into such a small space? Is it just my generation (Baby Boomers) who think you need at least 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms to survive? Is that because we shared bedrooms with siblings and want our children to have their own space? Or maybe we want big homes as a status symbol?   

​Millennials—those currently 19 to 34 years old (born 1981 to 1996)—have been a challenging demographic group for the home building industry to figure out. They’ve kept many wondering as to when and where they will finally decide to buy a home. 

​One major reason Millennials are acting differently has to do with finances. According to the New American Foundation, the average Millennial graduating with a bachelor’s degree has nearly $30k in student loans. This long-term burden of debt competes with other expenditures, and makes it harder to qualify for mortgages. Add fewer job opportunities (and job advances) to the mix and it’s not hard to understand why Millennials are living at home longer with parents, renting rather than buying, and putting off marriage and children. More than changing preferences—these are often sound financial choices. Eventually, Millennials will be buying homes, but they will do so at a lower rate than previous generations and on a delayed time schedule.