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☆ New York City is on the verge of allowing thousands of homeowners to build extra dwellings in their backyard, garage, or basement
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-02 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementNew York City is on the verge of legalizing accessory dwelling units in much of the city. The effort is part of the mayor's "City of Yes" housing plan, designed to boost the supply of homes. More than a dozen states across the country have legalized ADUs in recent years, and New York State greenlit the secondary units in 2022, although New York City has restricted them. Last year, New York City rolled out a pilot program that awarded 15 homeowners with up to nearly $400,000 in funding per household to build an extra dwelling in their backyard, basement, or attic. Another Republican council member opposed to City of Yes derided ADUs as backyard "treehouses" that would depress home values.

Persons: Eric Adams, Dan Garodnick, Marcel Negret, —, Nolan Gray, Casey Berkovitz, Councilmember Vicky Paladino, ADUs, Negret Organizations: New York State, New, New York City Department of City Planning, Regional Plan Association, ADUs, City, Department of City Planning, Republican, Northeast Locations: York City, New York City, City, York, Los Angeles, Seattle, California, Northeast Queens, Yorker

☆ Baby-boomer homeowners got rich from skyrocketing house prices. Now they can't find retirement housing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-29 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementBaby-boomer homeowners have benefited from skyrocketing housing prices amid a home shortage. Baby boomers have been the big winners in the US housing market, but as the generation retires, its members are facing a new challenge in finding accessible housing. Those who oppose building are disproportionately older homeowners. AdvertisementMany older homeowners — particularly the growing number who still have mortgages — are struggling with rising insurance premiums. Molinsky's report found older Black homeowners had less than half the home equity of older white homeowners.

Persons: boomers, Redfin, Jennifer Molinsky, Molinsky, There's Organizations: Homeowners, Harvard, Aging Society, Insurance Locations: South Florida, Arizona

Many said he failed to acknowledge the real reason many grandparents don't help with childcare more: They can't afford to. Many American families are stuck between a retirement crisis and a childcare crisis, with young parents unable to help their own parents — and vice versa. The childcare crisis meets the retirement crisisSandra, 51, has been dealing with both childcare and eldercare challenges over the past year. "And that would help parents who want to stay home and care for kids; it would also help grandparents who want to help care for kids while their parents are working." AdvertisementRachidi also said that revisiting the usefulness of regulations around informal care — settings like friend and family care — should be on the table, too.

Persons: Linda C, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Sen, JD Vance, Linda, I'd, Vance, Trump, she's, —, Taylor Van Kirk, Van Kirk, Sandra, grandpa, Elliot Haspel, Haspel, Kamala Harris, Jennifer Baker, they'd, that's, Baker, who's, Angela Rachidi, Rowe, Rachidi, Connie Adler, Adler, Vance's Organizations: Service, Democratic, Business, AARP, Capita, American Enterprise Institute, asheffey Locations: California, Sweden, Arizona

JD Vance's plan to tackle high childcare costs may not take into account the looming retirement crisis facing millions of older Americans. When Kirk asked how Vance planned to address the issue, Vance suggested extended family members step in to relieve the financial burden on parents. AdvertisementNot many states require childcare workers to have college degrees or certifications. But he may have been referring to a new law in the nation's capital that requires many childcare workers to have a two-year associate degree, among other training. Vance has condemned universal childcare, calling it a subsidy for the affluent and a "class war against normal people."

Persons: JD Vance's, Vance, Donald Trump's, Charlie Kirk, —, Kirk, didn't, who's, that's, Linda, Katie Britt, Alabama, Mike Lee of, Laurie Furstenfeld Organizations: Service, Bank of America, Survey, Social Security, Business, Republicans, Congress, Child Care Law, asheffey Locations: California, Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Berkeley , California

☆ Don't get your hopes up about the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One of the most painful ways higher interest rates have impacted Americans is through higher housing costs. The combination of high borrowing costs and skyrocketing home prices and rents — caused by a housing shortage — has created an enduring housing affordability crisis. On the one hand, lower borrowing costs would likely make mortgages cheaper for buyers and encourage builders to construct desperately needed new homes. But rate cuts would also spur new home construction, as builders respond to higher demand and lower borrowing costs for acquisition and construction loans. On top of high borrowing costs, builders are struggling with a severe shortage of construction workers and high building material costs.

Persons: —, Jerome Powell, Daryl Fairweather, Wells, underbuilding, Ben Metcalf, Metcalf Organizations: Service, Jackson Hole , Wyoming ., Business, Bank of England, Terner Center, Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley Locations: Jackson Hole , Wyoming

☆ The noon-to-4 is the new 9-to-5 for driving commuters, but it's not helping traffic congestion
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAfter roads went eerily quiet during the early months of the pandemic, traffic is back with a vengeance. New remote and hybrid work schedules and a rise in car ownership in recent years have transformed traffic and congestion patterns. New York City had the worst congestion of any city in the world in 2023, the INRIX report found. AdvertisementNew York City had the worst congestion of any city in the world in 2023, the INRIX report found. While the population of New York City residents rose 1.4% between 2012 and 2021, the number of registered passenger vehicles rose by 12%.

Persons: —, INRIX, Bob Pishue, COVID, Pishue, Declan Gill Organizations: Service, Business, New, People Locations: Dallas, New York, Manhattan, New York City, York City, Yorkers

☆ Montana's housing crisis is a warning for older homeowners across the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Older homeowners who live on fixed incomes are having a particularly hard time managing these rising costs. She blames rising property taxes and insurance costs but notes that inflation, in general, has also squeezed those on fixed incomes. Older homeowners are struggling in communities across the country. AdvertisementThe housing affordability crisis comes as the country is also facing a retirement crisis. AdvertisementMany older homeowners forced out of their housing end up unhoused, part of a growing homeless population in the state.

Persons: —, Beverly Dashnaw, she's, Montana, Policygenius, Dashnaw, it's, Greg Gianforte, Gianforte, you've Organizations: Service, Business, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Republican, American Locations: Montana

☆ A New York City Airbnb host was shut down under the short-term rental law. He's now renting his basement illegally on Facebook and making crucial income after he was laid off.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But they're knowingly violating New York City's new law banning most short-term rentals. To comply with the law, they would need to open up their personal living room and kitchen to their Airbnb guests. Less than a year into enforcement of the near-ban, it's not clear whether New York City is achieving this goal, but it has made hotel rooms more expensive. AdvertisementCrucial income after a layoffAfter the city rejected his application, Paul says he was "pissed off" and decided to find other ways to rent the basement out to short-term guests. AdvertisementHave you been impacted by New York City's short-term rental regulations?

Persons: Paul, they're, helpfully, Airbnbs, he's, He's, OSE, fining, —, Airbnb, wouldn't Organizations: Service, Business, York, Queens, New York, city's, Special Enforcement, Facebook Locations: Astoria , Queens, Astoria, Asia, Europe, New York City, Irvine , California, New York, New

☆ The US cities where renters are struggling the most
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( John Towfighi | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Related storiesIn Florida, there are five metro areas where more than 60% of renters are cost-burdened. Two Pennsylvania metro areas were in the top 10 for the highest percentage of cost-burdened renters: State College and East Stroudsburg, at 63% and 61%, respectively. According to the Harvard report, 45% of renters in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are severely cost-burdened, the highest percentage in the nation. AdvertisementCorvallis, Oregon; Port St. Lucie, Florida; and State College, Pennsylvania, are the three metro areas that are in the top 10 for both cost-burdened and severely cost-burdened renters. Home prices and mortgage interest rates have surged in recent years, putting homeownership out of reach for even more renters.

Persons: —, Alexander Hermann, erelman@businessinsider.com Organizations: Service, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Business, Harvard, Harvard's, for Housing, State College, East, State College , Locations: Naples , Florida, Corvallis , Oregon, Florida, Naples, Marco, Port St, Lucie , Florida, Pennsylvania, East Stroudsburg, Stillwater , Oklahoma, State College , Pennsylvania

☆ A working-class immigrant neighborhood in Queens banned cars along a major road. The new park is a 'superhighway of kids and families and neighbors.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Just a few years ago, that same road — 34th Avenue — was a traffic-clogged artery. The 34th Avenue Open Street is 26 traffic-restricted blocks with a handful of entirely car-free plazas outside schools. Thousands of students use the 34th Avenue Open Street to get to and from school every day. Siff and others hope 34th Avenue will become a public park that prioritizes people on foot. Do you live on or near an open street in New York City or a traffic-restricted street elsewhere?

Persons: —, Nuala O'Doherty, Naranjo, Kathy Hochul, O'Doherty, ", Eliza Relman, Braulio Tellez, Tellez, Jim Burke, Burke, they're, " O'Doherty, Shekar Krishnan, Krishnan, they've, Dawn Siff Organizations: Service, Manhattan, Business, Initiative, New York Gov, Immigrant, Central Queens, Elmhurst Hospital Center, City Department of Transportation, City College, Coalition, City, Department of Transportation, Alliance, Park, Citi Field Locations: Jackson Heights , Queens, York, Manhattan, Jackson, Central, Elmhurst, New York City, Bronx, Siff, Mexico City, Paris

☆ Parents with young kids are fleeing New York City in droves. Skyrocketing housing and daycare costs are to blame.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The concrete jungle is an increasingly unfriendly playground for young kids and their parents. Families with kids under six years old are more than twice as likely to leave New York City than families without young kids, according to a new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. To make matters worse, many parents of young kids were thrown into a panic several months ago when New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he would cut $567 million from public preschool programs for three-year-olds. Between 2020 and 2022, 17,500 millionaires moved into New York City, while 2,400 left, FPI reported last year. Have you left New York City or State because of rising childcare and housing costs?

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, FPI Organizations: Service, Fiscal, Institute, Business, The New York Times, New York City, Yorkers Locations: New York City, The, New, New York, Black

Read previewAmericans are on their way to work — and they probably still have a long way to go. New research first reported by The Wall Street Journal shows that more workers are supercommuting, meaning they're traveling more than 75 miles each way for work. Some trips, they found, are as long as five hours each way, with some starting their commutes at 3 a.m. New York City experienced an 89% surge in supercommuting, from 1.9% to 3.6% of all trips. Phoenix, Arizona — a city that's seen a surge of new residents in recent years and, as a result, soaring housing costs — has also seen supercommuting increase by 57%.

Persons: —, Nick Bloom, Alex Finan, Bloom, Finan, Kyle Rice Organizations: Service, Wall Street Journal, Business, metros, Stanford University, WFH Research, Economic Locations: New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, supercommuters . Phoenix , Arizona, Bloom, Willmington , Delaware, Delaware, York

☆ Delivering food on an e-bike or moped is a deadly endeavor in New York City
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Eliza Relman | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

New York City delivery workers who don't use cars have one of the deadliest jobs in the city. There are now more than 65,000 app-based restaurant delivery workers in the city, and about 80% of them use e-bikes and motorbikes. The city report found that 28.7% of e-bike or moped delivery workers experienced injuries that forced them to miss work, lose consciousness, or seek medical care. They're asking for wider protected bike lanes, or even separate lanes for e-bikes and mopeds, and charging facilities for e-bikes. Indeed, "New Yorkers are dependent on app delivery workers to keep them safe and fed during times of crisis," she added.

Persons: —, takeout, Eric Adams, it's, Jose Alvarado, Andrew Lichtenstein, Brad Lander, Uber, DoorDash —, Ligia Guallpa, Guallpa, DoorDash, Guallpa's, Lander Organizations: Service, Business, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bloomberg, Yorkers, New York Times, Department of Transportation, Getty, City, York, Workers Justice Locations: New York City, York, New York, South Bronx, York City, City, Manhattan, Williamsburg , Brooklyn

☆ Low-income Americans wait years to get housing vouchers that are often impossible to use. Fixing the system could mean more funding and less red tape.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, is also the biggest, aiding about 5 million people in 2.3 million households. While it's illegal in some places to discriminate against voucher holders, the practice isn't outlawed everywhere. Fully funding housing vouchers would mean many more housing-insecure and unhoused people would get help. Related storiesIn its budget for fiscal year 2025, the Biden administration requested a $2.5 billion increase for voucher funding over 2023 levels. Researchers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development have proposed piloting a direct cash transfer program for rent as an alternative to housing vouchers.

Persons: Will Fischer, Biden, Jenny Schuetz, isn't, Lindsey Nicholson, Michael Stegman, Stegman, Tara Radosevich, Fischer, Schuetz Organizations: Service, Business, of Housing, Urban Development, Budget, Harvard, The New York Times, Republicans, Brookings Institute, Getty, Urban Institute, HUD, Washington State, Department of Housing Locations: —, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Iowa, Long Island City, Queens, Oregon

☆ 15 cities with plenty of rentals and high enough wages to afford them
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new Zillow and StreetEasy analysis finds that rental price growth is far outpacing wage growth in most big cities — and New Yorkers are particularly screwed. In New York City, rents increased seven times as fast as wages from 2022 to 2023. Similarly, renters in Boston, Cincinnati, and Buffalo are seeing their wage growth dwarfed by their rent increases. But it's not all bad news for prospective and current tenants: There are still a handful of cities where wage growth has outpaced rent increases. While wages rose by 5.5% between 2022 and 2023, rents increased by just 0.8%, the Zillow/StreetEasy report found.

Persons: it's, Tesla, Austin, that's, there's Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, The Atlantic Locations: New York City, Boston , Cincinnati, Buffalo, Austin, Portland , Oregon, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Houston, Salt Lake City , Minneapolis, Riverside , California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, California, Southern, Raleigh, Charlotte, North Carolina, Miami, Georgia, Tennessee

☆ A national shortage of construction workers is driving high home prices. The industry is struggling to fill the gap.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Eliza Relman | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Fewer construction workers means less — and slower — residential construction, which in turn leads to higher home prices, according to a 2023 report from researchers at the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Builders and infrastructure projects are in desperate need of all kinds of construction workers, but especially skilled tradespeople. Simonson said that allowing more immigrants into the country to fill construction jobs is crucial. Making the industry more appealing to womenBoushey pointed out that the share of women in the overall construction industry has climbed. The construction industry is also at a disadvantage because most workers can't do manual labor until they retire.

Persons: —, Ken Simonson, Kit Dickinson, Dickinson, Ben Brubeck, Maja Rosenquist, Mortenson, we've, Simonson, Brubeck, Rosenquist, Joe Biden, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Heather Boushey, Biden, Boushey, she's Organizations: Service, Associated Builders and Contractors, Business, Associated, Contractors of America, University of Utah, University of Wisconsin - Madison, ADP, —, Builders, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, Economic Advisers Locations: president's, America

☆ One New Yorker won $150,000 when she found out her landlord had been overcharging her. Now a bunch more tenants are using stabilization laws to get money back and pay cheaper rent.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AdvertisementAs TikTok becomes the new town square for all things economic transparency, the latest target of populist ire is New York City landlords. Several videos that have recently gone viral show viewers how to look into their rent histories and call out examples of potentially illegal hikes. Wait times for rent histories are now at 20 business days, up from 10 in late January, as a result of "social media activity." Klenkar has made TikToks about her old apartment and rent histories and has had "lots" of people reach out with their own rent histories. More may be on their way as New Yorkers seem to be requesting their rent histories en masse.

Persons: they've, —, Danielle —, Danielle, TikTok, it's, There's, they're, Allia Mohamed, She's, Mohamed, They've, he's, Carla —, Carla, Thomas Trutschel, Anna Klenkar, Klenkar, I've, Gothamist, DHCR, overcharge, Esteban Girón, shouldn't, It's Organizations: New York, Tenants, Service, Business, BI, Yorkers, New, US, Division, Housing, Community, Rent Administration, Rent, New York State Homes, Community Renewal, Tenant Union, Tenants PAC, Directors Locations: New York State, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn , New York, York City, New York, New York City, New, Washington Heights, Manhattan, Long Island City, Lower, Side, backpay

☆ New Yorkers are flooding a government website to figure out if they're overpaying for rent
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Eliza Relman | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A spokesperson for DHCR told Business Insider the "surge" in rent history requests is "unprecedented." Mohamed said that since she posted that TikTok, hundreds of people have emailed openigloo asking for help deciphering the rent history information they've received from DHCR. Diana Prendergast, a 27-year-old recording artist who lives in New York, requested her rent history after learning about it from TikTok. She said she's still awaiting her rent history. Did you request your rent history, or discover you were being overcharged?

Persons: —, openigloo, Allia Mohamed, Mohamed, they've, Diana Prendergast, she's, Gothamist Organizations: Service, New York, Homes, Community Renewal, New, DHCR, Business, The Met Council, Housing Locations: New York, DHCR, TikTok, New York City

☆ Homes made in factories were supposed to save us from the housing crisis, but the companies that make them are failing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But the world of modular housing, which includes multi-unit apartment buildings and conventional-looking houses, is littered with companies that have gone bust. AdvertisementThese restrictive policies often reflect the lingering perception that factory-built homes are inferior to traditional housing, Erlich said. Investors aren't convinced there's sufficient and consistent demand for modular housing in most markets. They tend to be run by people with deep experience in the construction industry, Erlich said. AdvertisementDo you work in the modular housing industry?

Persons: —, Mark Erlich, Katerra, Erlich, Andrew Justus, Justus, Biden, aren't, there's Organizations: Service, New England Regional, of Carpenters, Urban, Niskanen, of Housing, Motors, Avana, Factory, New York Times Locations: Silicon, California, Brooklyn, Manhattan, San Francisco Bay

☆ 'Zombie' offices could turn into 400,000 new apartments for families. That's almost double the number of new US units in a typical year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Eliza Relman | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The rise of remote work, high interest rates, and climate regulations all pose problems for office buildings. A new study found that more than 2,000 US office buildings could be converted into up to 400,000 apartments. And new environmental regulations require that buildings meet certain energy efficiency standards that can require costly renovations. Turning office buildings into apartments isn't a new concept, and it's one that New York City has embraced in theory. Of course, office buildings require some retrofitting to be turned from sprawling workplaces to livable apartments.

Persons: Arpit Gupta, Candy Martinez, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Insider's Jordan Hart Organizations: Service, National Bureau of Economic Research, Los, New York City, jkaplan Locations: Wall, Silicon, Greater New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, New York

☆ Texans are staying inside during record heat — and the state's economy could take a $9.5 billion hit from reduced business
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Eliza Relman | Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In Texas, that could mean a $9.5 billion hit to the state's GDP if the extreme heat continues. As extreme heat grips much of the US this summer and the Earth records its hottest month on record, people are staying inside. Pardue told Insider he was surprised at the magnitude of the decline in hours worked as a result of extreme heat. "And then we're seeing, long term, this opposite shift, where during the summer, there's all this extreme heat." Are you staying home or working fewer hours because of extreme heat?

Persons: —, Luke Pardue, Pardue, we've, Ray Perryman, Jonathan Horowitz, Andreas Flouris Organizations: Service, Workers, Wall Street, Buffalo Bayou Brewing, Nationwide, The National Energy Assistance, Association, Research, University of Thessaly, New York Times, Nature Conservancy, Phoenix, Louisiana Department of Health, erelman Locations: Texas, Houston, Greece, Arizona, New Orleans

☆ America's broken housing market is making millennials and Gen Z lonelier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Loneliness is a perceived lack of connection — the discrepancy between the social connection someone has and the connection they want. Holt-Lunstad's widely-cited research has found that loneliness and social isolation have health impacts comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People who live in communities with more walkable neighborhoods, shared space, greenery, and diverse types of housing, feel more socially connected and less lonely. In her work, Peavey has come up with six design strategies for creating third spaces — places that aren't home, work, or school — to facilitate social connection. But neighborhoods need to be dense and walkable in order for people to easily access these places because cars and physical distance get in the way.

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