Janneke Ratcliffe

How Zoning Fits into a National Housing Affordability Strategy Major pieces of legislation in the House and Senate leverage land-use policy as a tool to advance national housing affordability. Policymakers have an opport…

As federal lawmakers advance the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, see how local land use fits in: www.urban.org/urban-wire/h...

Fairfax County Panhandling Study To explore the experiences, needs, and characteristics of people who panhandle in Fairfax County, researchers at the Urban Institute conducted a study compri…

Have five minutes? Learn more about what Urban scholars uncovered on the experiences and challenges of people who panhandle underscores the importance of stable, affordable housing FOR ALL. www.urban.org/research/pub...

I am proud to announce the launch of Urban’s Center for Local Finance & Growth. Stay tuned for more details on our official launch event!

Official press release: www.urban.org/press-releas...

A Perfect Storm of Rising Costs Threatens America’s Housing Market This brief provides a case study of one housing market that many markets across the country can examine. The pressures on households, real estate and insuran…

Another great read! Here, Alanna McCargo highlights what Houston's experience can show us about the downstream effects of storms on housing affordability. www.urban.org/research/pub...

Housing Finance at a Glance: A Monthly Chartbook September 2025 Housing Finance at a Glance is a monthly reference guide policymakers and industry professionals have used since 2013 to stay informed about the latest mortg…

In uncertain times you can always count on the data-driven #impact and #analysis from our monthly Chartbook. Read the latest issue here: www.urban.org/research/pub...

Recent Tariffs Threaten Residential Construction Using TPC’s tariff model, we calculated that current tariffs, including those just announced, will add roughly $30 billion to the costs of investment in residential structures.

New from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, read about tariffs impacting home construction and renovation costs. taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/recen...

Untangling a Complex Problem: Preserving Housing Wealth for Vulnerable Owners through Technology and Estate Planning Homeownership is a key source of household wealth. Many households hope to build wealth through homeownership and to pass it down to future generations. But …

Join the Urban Institute on 9/25 @ 5:30 p.m. ET for a hybrid discussion on the importance of estate planning as a #wealth preservation tool, the opportunities presented by adopting #technology, and the potential challenges. #LiveatUrban

Brilliant new look at how to measure the housing shortage - down to the neighborhood level.

Urban's Jim Parrott teamed with experts at Moody's, PolicyMap and Policy Solutions at Reinvestment Fund to get beneath the national estimates. Read the full brief here: www.urban.org/research/pub...

The Past, Present, and Future of Credit Scores in Housing Finance

Have any plans tomorrow afternoon? If not, there's still time to register for our event and networking reception! Join us as we discuss the past, present, and future of credit scores in housing finance. www.urban.org/events/past-...

Evaluating Rent Reporting as a Pathway to Build Credit In the first randomized study of rent reporting—the inclusion of housing rental payments in credit data—we show that this practice can help people get a credit score for the first time or improve thei...

In the first ever controlled study of rent reporting impacts, Urban researchers find that positive-only rent reporting leads to large, statistically significant increases in the likelihood of having a credit score. Read all about it in our newly released report www.urban.org/research/pub...

The Trump Administration Has Proposed $27 Billion in Cuts by Block Granting Housing Assistance. That Could Worsen the Housing Affordability Crisis. The president’s budget proposed combining five federal housing assistance programs into one block grant—a move that would immediately and dramatically reduce the number of assisted households.

The following piece from my Urban colleagues further illustrates how this will impact households: www.urban.org/urban-wire/t...

Trump Administration's Proposed 2026 Budget Would Decimate HUD Programs, Cut $45 Billion Overall

Trump Admin's proposed HUD budget would cut the agency's budget authority by $45 b. It would cut staff by 26%, killing 2300 jobs.

HUD proposes eliminating most of its programs—vouchers, public housing, CDBG, etc—& replacing them with a single, smaller state block grant.

www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles...

Gutting the FHA Will Decrease Housing Market Efficiency and Hurt Borrowers Expected staffing cuts of at least 40 percent at the Federal Housing Administration risk hurting borrowers, reducing lender liquidity, and making a strong, profitable government program inefficient.

(hint: places with lower density and less expensive housing) #housingsupply and #affordability, while also decreasing government revenue: www.urban.org/urban-wire/g...

Cuts to the FHA Will Hurt Households and Local Economies across the Country Layoffs at the Federal Housing Administration will diminish the agency’s capacity to support affordable homeownership, especially in low-income, affordable, suburban, and rural communities.

The Trump administration wants federal departments to lower the cost of housing and expand housing supply. Proposed cuts to the #FHA would affect all parts of the country, some more than others: www.urban.org/urban-wire/c...

New data tool reveals Asian American wealth and debt | Urban Institute posted on the topic | LinkedIn Research findings reveal that while Asian Americans hold the greatest amount of #wealth, they also have higher amounts of #debt relative to their income compared to other racial and ethnic groups, whi...

As we close out AANHPI month, see Urban scholars' eye opening snapshot of the financial status and contributions of Asian Americans lnkd.in/eA9eyhUj

America’s Housing Market Is Failing Older Adults As the US population ages, more older adults are facing severe cost burdens, with limited ability to move or maintain their homes.

For more on our analysis on the housing market's impact on older adults, visit www.urban.org/urban-wire/a...

Homeownership Has Fallen Further Out of Reach for Younger Families with the Lowest Incomes The homeownership rate gap between 35-to-44-year-olds at the highest and the lowest income levels has grown considerably since 1980.

A recent Urban Institute analysis finds younger, lower-income households are much less likely to buy a home than previous generations; while another analysis looks at how the housing market is failing older adult leaving many at risk of homeless at the most vulnerable time in their lives.

Recapitalizing the GSEs through Administrative Action Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, collectively known as the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), have been in conservatorship since 2008. There was a movement during the first Trump administration to gi...

This presentation reflects a recent Urban report by the same title. www.urban.org/research/pub...

Assessing the Potential for Administrative GSE Recapitalization and Release YouTube video by Urban Institute

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, collectively known as the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), have been in conservatorship since 2008. In this presentation, Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center Institute Fellow Laurie Goodman reviews the history of the GSEs’ time in conservatorship.

Housing Counseling for Homeowners and Renters in Crisis: Lessons from the Housing Stability Counseling Program During the COVID-19 pandemic, owners and renters were at risk of losing their homes through mortgage delinquency or nonpayment of rent. This report focuses on a federal intervention designed to suppor...

Excited to share the release of our evaluation of NeighborWorks America’s Housing Stability Counseling Program. This report examines the role that the program played during the COVID-19 pandemic to rapidly deliver crisis-level services to renters and homeowners across the United States.

Recapitalizing the GSEs through Administrative Action: Former CEOs Explore Conservatorship Release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that play a major role in the US housing finance system, have been in conservatorship since 2008.

Today we will be hosting our third seminar on GSE reform. There has been lots of great discussion in our previous webinars so we hope you can join us from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT to get in on the action and become a part of the conversation. www.urban.org/events/recap...

Developing a Climate-Resilient and Green Affordable Housing Supply through Flexible Loans In this brief, we highlight learnings from the Solar and Energy Loan Fund’s (SELF) SAGE Homes program, which shows how CDFIs and green banks can support developers with flexible financing and mentorsh...

Our nation's supply of #affordablehousing is under threat from wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding, and the rising cost of #homeenergy.

The @urbaninstitute.bsky.social's latest case study shows how #CDFIs and #greenbanks can support developers in this space:

Recapitalizing the GSEs through Administrative Action: Former CEOs Explore Conservatorship Release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that play a major role in the US housing finance system, have been in conservatorship since 2008.

How has conservatorship changed the GSEs and what are the potential impacts of recapitalization?

Join Urban on 3/18 @ 1:00 p.m. ET for a virtual #discussion with former GSE CEOs on the possible effects of releasing the #GSEs from conservatorship. #LiveatUrban

Great data from Urban's housing team showing where HUD programs serve people, by state and district! www.linkedin.com/posts/yfreem...

Housing Finance: At A Glance Monthly Chartbook, February 2025 The February 2025 edition of Housing Finance At A Glance includes a special data feature with Q3 2024 loan level GSE credit data, including origination compositions, default rates, purchase rates and ...

Curious what's happening with the #housingmarket? You can check all the latest stats and trends in Urban's monthly at-a-glance #housingfinance chartbook: www.urban.org/research/pub...