By the Numbers - Nicolas P. Retsinas tracks the latest housing trends.
Interview by Susan Ladika
Growing up as the child of immigrants in Providence, R.I., Nicolas P. Retsinas had a strong sense of community. Today, as the director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, he still holds the American dream of homeownership close to his heart. “I think ‘home’ has special relevance to people coming to this country,” he says.
Retsinas, who served in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1990s, has dedicated his professional life to the housing industry. He joined JCHS in 1998.
At JCHS, researchers focus on critical housing and development issues. Each year, the center publishes the coveted State of the Nation’s Housing report, detailing demographic, economic, and social trends. Last year, Retsinas joined forces with former HUD secretaries Henry Cisneros and Jack Kemp, along with Kent Colton, long-time president of the National Association of Home Builders, to write the book, Our Communities, Our Homes: Pathways to Housing and Homeownership in America’s Cities and States.
What did your research for Our Communities, Our Homes uncover?
NR: When it comes to affordable housing, we found that cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle really stood out. They’re not just looking at individual programs. In each particular case, they’re tying a number of programs together so it’s not just a program for the homeless or a program for new rental housing. The other thing they’re doing is tying into the broader community by getting employers and community groups involved. It’s a much more holistic approach to dealing with the core of the issue.
Harvard’s 2007 State of the Nation’s Housing report indicates a new focus on reducing foreclosures. How can this occur?
NR: In recent years we have been obsessed with creating new homeowners; we have been less concerned about sustaining homeownership. We have seen an increasing number of foreclosures that are forcing people to vacate their homes, but more importantly, undermining the neighborhoods those homes are located in. What we need to see is a re-engagement of government. I’m pleased to see the efforts to reform FHA. I’m pleased to see that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are players once again. That doesn’t mean that they should crowd out the private market, but we have to find a way to channel those private market forces to the benefit, not to the detriment, of communities.
How will the changing U.S. demographics impact housing?
NR: The fastest-growing populations are foreign-born households and people of color. Minority households will constitute two-thirds of the net new households over the next 20 years. You add that to the changing household composition of empty nesters and single persons. These demographics suggest that the housing market must offer a diversity of options going forward. While the majority of people will continue to want … single-family detached homes in the suburbs, we’re going to have to revisit the role of high-density housing, housing in urban areas, and housing connected to transportation. We’ve got to find a way for the housing market to address the diverse needs of a very diverse population.
What is the outlook for the rental market?
NR: A lot of people who might have been homeowners with the help of exotic mortgages are no longer going to be homeowners. So that would auger well for the rental market. You’re seeing some tightening of the rental market and an uptick in prices. In [some] markets, that’s offset by increased supply. Projects once destined to be condos are now being converted to rentals
