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EnglishWhat is the Joint Center for Housing Studies at jchs.harvard.edu?
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The Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) is a Harvard-based research center that studies housing markets, affordability, and related policy questions. Its website, jchs.harvard.edu, is a public research hub rather than a commercial service: it publishes reports, blog posts, event listings, and media commentary. It is useful if you want data-driven analysis of U.S. housing conditions — for example, tracking rental housing trends, remodeling activity, or the housing needs of older adults — but it is not a place to apply for housing, get legal advice, or buy a product.
What the site actually offers
The homepage organizes its output into a few clear content types:
| Content type | Examples shown on the site | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Signature reports | The State of the Nation's Housing 2026, America's Rental Housing 2026, Improving America's Housing 2025, Housing America's Older Adults 2023, The State of Housing Design 2023 | Long-form, recurring flagship research |
| Latest research / blog | "Bigger Market, More Players: What 20 Years of Data Reveal About the Remodeling Industry"; "Household Growth to Increasingly Feel the Impacts of the Immigration Drop" | Shorter analysis of specific trends |
| Events | "Financing Cost-Rental Housing: A Low-Cost-of-Capital Approach to Supporting Below-Market Rents" (Oct 16, 2026, 12:15–1:15 pm ET, virtual); "The Full Cost of Homeownership: Maintenance, Replacement, and Housing Affordability" (Oct 30, 2026, 12:15–1:15 pm ET, virtual) | Virtual sessions tied to research topics |
| In the media | NPR on rising poverty among older adults; Marketplace on home improvement stores and the housing market; Marketplace on a construction manager who left his job | Where JCHS research or staff are cited in press coverage |
| Tools | Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) | A recurring indicator for tracking remodeling trends |
The site also offers a mailing list signup with interest categories for News, Blog, and Events.
Core topic areas
Based on the reports and posts featured, JCHS concentrates on:
- Housing affordability and cost burdens, including the full cost of homeownership (maintenance and replacement, not just mortgage payments).
- Rental housing, including below-market rent financing approaches.
- Remodeling and home improvement, tracked through the LIRA tool and long-run industry data.
- Older adults' housing, including the intersection of aging, poverty, and housing demand.
- Demographic and household trends, such as how immigration shifts affect household growth.
How to use it
If you need citable housing research, start with the Signature Reports section — these are the recurring, comprehensive publications. For current or narrower topics, check Latest Research and the blog. If you want to hear researchers discuss findings directly, the Upcoming Events listings give dates, times, and virtual access details. For press-oriented summaries, the In the Media section shows how the work is being covered elsewhere.
One practical note: the site functions as a research and data resource. It does not present itself as offering direct services, and the materials shown are reports, events, and commentary rather than consumer products or applications.