Aerial photo of California suburbs

Poverty is Worse Than Sprawl: California's Housing Affordability Crisis

by Wendell Cox – Rent control supporters in California recently announced that they have enough signatures to qualify a state proposition to remove limitations on municipalities to control rents. Their purpose is to improve housing affordability in the nation’s most unaffordable state.
Polk County Courthouse at night

The Midwest is Booming - Just Not Where You Think

by Joel Kotkin — The Midwest is booming, but not where you might think. Kansas City, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Grand Rapids, and Des Moines are the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest—lapping bigger hubs like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and even Chicago that are still suffering from stagnant economies and slow or even negative population growth.
suburban housing growth

What the Census Numbers Tell Us

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — The most recent Census population estimates revealed something that the mainstream media would prefer to ignore—the slowing population growth of big cities, including New York.

Landless Americans Are the New Serf Class

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — For the better part of the past century, the American dream was defined, in large part, by that “universal aspiration” to own a home. As housing prices continue to outstrip household income, that’s changing as more and more younger Americans are ending up landless, and not by choice.
Repairs on Mulholland Drive

Trump's Infrastructure Plan is a Rare, and Potentially Bipartisan, Feel Good Moment

President Trump's proposed trillion dollar plus infrastructure program represents a rare, and potentially united feel good moment. Yet before we jump into a massive re-do of our transportation, water and electrical systems, it's critical to make sure we get some decent bang for the federal buck.

The Screwed Millennial Generation Gets Smart

by Joel Kotkin — It’s been seven years since I wrote about “the screwed generation.” The story told has since become familiar: Millennials, then largely in their twenties, faced a future of limited economic opportunity
suburban homes

Housing and the California Dream are at a Crossroads

by Joel Kotkin — For generations, California has offered its people an opportunity to own a home, start a business, and move up, whether someone came from Brooklyn, east Texas, Morelos or Taipei. That deal is still desired by most
Rockefeller Center

Suburbs & Exurbs Grab Nearly All Metropolitan Growth

by Wendell Cox — The pattern of suburban (and exurban) population growth in the suburbs and exurbs that has dominated the United States since World War II has returned and is intensifying.
View of Downtown Houston, Texas

Houston Housing Market 3rd Quarter 2017: Impact of Harvey Strongest in Resale Market

by Lawrence Dean — Houston’s new home market and general economic conditions cannot be discussed without considering the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, which damaged 167,000 single family homes throughout the Greater Houston Area.
COU Reports

COU Standard of Living Index 2017 - 2nd Annual Edition

In this policy brief, The COU Standard of Living Index, Wendell Cox provides cost of living estimates for new entrants to metropolitan markets, including prospective home buyers as well as renters.