Volume 5 Number 2
February 2008

In this Issue
A National Crisis with Global Impact
Secondary Mortgage Markets: Increasing Capital and Improving Housing Affordability
Waiting for Technology: A Research Agenda
Which Type of House Would You Buy?
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• Researchers have completed a study of overcrowding in living space from 1985 to 2005, using national American Housing Survey (AHS) data. Although each census since 1940 has measured overcrowded living space by the standard of more than one person per room, other standards are used as well, including persons-per-bedroom and unit square footage-per-person. We’ll see how these measures, including the AHS data, inform issues related to overcrowded living conditions.

• The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing’s (PATH) first concept house in Omaha, Nebraska was recently completed. The result of improved production methods and affordable, customizable designs, it features interior walls that move to accommodate changing family needs. Construction of a second concept house in Charleston, South Carolina, set to begin in 2008, will focus on durability in the face of hurricanes, flooding, high winds, and humidity, as well as energy-efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability. We’ll “visit” these concept homes to see what they mean for the future of affordable housing in America.

• ResearchWorks will examine the results of a 2006 study that considers changes to the American Housing Survey regarding mortgage finance and nontraditional mortgage products. We’ll look at this study, and the characteristics of nontraditional mortgages in particular, to see why they are both important and controversial in today’s housing market.

• Some provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law in December 2007, are designed to improve energy efficiency in American homes. In the spirit of this legislation, we’ll explore the potential energy and consumer savings of a number of lighting and appliance technologies identified by PATH in its ongoing mission to advance housing technology.