September column for Builder & Developer magazine now online

My September column for Builder & Developer magazine is now posted online. For this month's issue, which is entitled "Affordable Housing Demand" -- I discussed the the challenges of building affordable housing and cited a couple of successful projects on which MetroIntelligence has consulted.

An excerpt:

Given the enormous inventory of unsold homes in the marketplace, it’s very easy to claim that the U.S. is simply over-housed. But despite 300,000 new foreclosures per month and a national apartment vacancy rate of nearly 8%, in many metro areas there is still not enough housing for low-income households. The reasons for this shortfall are many, including high prices for land, impact fees, zoning requirements and pricy carrying costs. Add to that list uncooperative neighborhood groups who assume that affordable housing equals increased traffic, utilitarian architecture and neighborhood decay, and it’s no wonder that the demand chronically exceeds supply.