Tootfinder

2019 time capsule: “The successful implementation of a public bank could be a windfall for affordable housing advocates.” By @…. Now, finally, it’s headed for a ballot near you!

A public bank could make affordable housing more affordable
How would a public bank fund affordable housing?

Exclusive: Trump ousts watchdog of US housing regulator involved in mortgage probes of his foes, sources say (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/watchdog-being-ousted-us-housing-regulator-involved-trump-crackdown-sources-say-2025-11-03/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251103/p136#a251103p136

https://bsky.app/profile/deanpreston.bsky.social/post/3m74ns5vf322m

Dean Preston (@deanpreston.bsky.social)
For those who are interested in housing production, as distinct from the political posturing about housing production, highly recommend this new piece by Fernando Martí. Please share far and wide. https://medium.com/@el.compay.nando/upzoning-fantasies-84cb748ae3d2

https://bsky.app/profile/deanpreston.bsky.social/post/3m74ns5vf322m

Dean Preston (@deanpreston.bsky.social)
For those who are interested in housing production, as distinct from the political posturing about housing production, highly recommend this new piece by Fernando Martí. Please share far and wide. https://medium.com/@el.compay.nando/upzoning-fantasies-84cb748ae3d2

Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who ran on an #affordability agenda,
pledged during the campaign to freeze rent on the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments.
“We know we are fighting for a #rent #freeze…

Mamdani’s First Orders Focus on Housing and Undoing Adams’s Decisions
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed a flurry of executive orders on his first day as mayor of New York City. They were aimed at protecting tenants and revoking some of ex-Mayor Eric Adams’s past orders.

Facts: “The report shouldn’t be a shock to anyone...because zoning is just one factor of 100. I’m afraid ‘We’re going to sue the government until the capital markets do what we want’ is basically the textbook definition of San Francisco YIMBYism.” - @…

Housing (for) a post-growth world: A manifesto
by Anna Pagani, Hans Volmary, Daniel Fitzpatrick* Providing housing for all is central to building any future. Yet, the system put in place to deliver housing globally has been relentlessly driven by growth imperatives. The consequences are far reaching: unhealthy, unsafe, overcrowded, over- or underheated, and inadequate housing, which is paralleled by the soaring greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss tied to the…

Housing (for) a post-growth world: A manifesto
by Anna Pagani, Hans Volmary, Daniel Fitzpatrick* Providing housing for all is central to building any future. Yet, the system put in place to deliver housing globally has been relentlessly driven …

Yay! Colorado officially recognizes that mental health IS physical health! Our bodies DO include our brains.
Next, we need to legislate financial support for medical problems with ears, eyes and teeth. Hell, throw in food, water and housing--NOW we're getting civilized. https://newsbeep.org/@us/1158286950032

United States News Beep (@us@newsbeep.org)
Attached: 1 image New Colorado law requires insurers to cover mental health like physical illness Advocates said the law ensures that Coloradans can access the care they are paying for without facing a… #NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Mentalhealth #Health #MentalHealth https://www.newsbeep.com/us/384528/

Finished “Deacon King Kong” by James McBride.
In 1969, an elderly church deacon known as “sportcoat” in his community of the Causeway Housing project in south Brooklyn, approaches & unexpectedly shoots a drug dealer, wounding him.
What happens afterwards is a great character & community driven story of colliding tectonic plates: changing neighborhood demographics, police presence, the destruction of drugs. Stays mostly humorous & light.
5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
…

Deacon King Kong
The funny, sharp, and surprising story of the shooting …

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers https://edintone.com/work-housing-health/ In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. The Boot and Shoe O

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers - Miscellanea Edintone
In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. The Boot and Shoe Operatives Trade Union had 13,104 members; officials estimated that only 5% of adult workers were outside the union.

More evil from the Israeli regime.
Israel escalates West Bank demolitions amid illegal settlement expansion | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/1/israel-es…

Israel escalates West Bank demolitions amid illegal settlement expansion
Bulldozers flatten refugee housing while Israel approves 126 settler housing units and targets UN agencies.

Top Articles of 2025: The Rental Housing Market Holds Strong
"The U.S. rental housing market remained strong and stable in 2025, with narrowing supply‑demand gaps, rising investment activity, and rent growth in line with pre‑pandemic levels."

Top Articles of 2025: The Rental Housing Market Holds Strong
The U.S. rental housing market remained strong and stable in 2025, spreading through the multifamily and single-family rentals sectors. Here’s a look at this year's top articles from Arbor Realty Trust, in case you missed them.

Russia strikes ENERGY AND HOUSING: 1,700 DRONES and 69 MISSILES in one week #shorts: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/25/russia-strikes-energy-and-housing.html

Freitag: Cyberangriffe auf US-Radiosender, TSMC-Vorwürfe an neuen Intel-Manager
Fake-Radiomeldungen durch Cyberangreifer Verdacht auf TSMC-Geheimnisverrat Energiemix mehrheitlich erneuerbar Österreichs Server Housing X-Feed änderbar

Housing (for) a post-growth world: A manifesto.
#housing

Housing (for) a post-growth world: A manifesto
by Anna Pagani, Hans Volmary, Daniel Fitzpatrick* Providing housing for all is central to building any future. Yet, the system put in place to deliver housing globally has been relentlessly driven …

I'm not saying there isn't any problem, but I am saying that thatcherism/reaganism is absolutely how everyone dies. How about we stop American private equity from draining the economy, ignore all US laws against reverse engineering, stop paying copy levy to the US, and legalize squatting again to make it so giant corporations can't hold all the housing stock? Maybe we can check in after that.

"Green spaces should be the norm for all new housing developments in England, guidelines say"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Houses

Good evening!
Starlings over Utrecht, at dusk.

Maryland will use Claude across its agencies to help residents apply for food aid, Medicaid, and more, and deploy Percepta tools to speed up housing permits (Maria Curi/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/13/maryland-ai-housing-government-benefits

Exclusive: Maryland taps AI for housing and government benefits
Applying for government assistance or housing permits, as well as processing those services, can be difficult and time consuming.

20 states sue Trump over cuts to HUD housing program for homelessness | Courthouse News Service
https://www.courthousenews.com/20-states-sue-trump-over-cuts-to-hud-housing-program-for-homelessness/

Australia's renewable energy boom is coming—and it could solve a surprising problem.
Over the next decade, we'll build more clean energy infrastructure than the past 30 years combined. But where will thousands of construction workers live in regional towns already facing housing shortages?
A new RE-Alliance report shows worker accommodation can become lasting community assets: refurbished aged-care homes, workforce villages transformed into suburbs.

SwitchedOn podcast: Renewable construction boom can help fix regional housing crisis
RE-Alliance’s national director, Andrew Bray, discusses how the energy transition can deliver important consumer benefits, particularly in housing.

Now that the Vondelkerk has burned down, they can finally bulldoze the site and build high-rise luxury housing in central Amsterdam to sell to foreign investors and private equity. It's a great opportunity for the market!

SF's Local Agency Formation Commission "LAFCo" is hiring a policy analyst. This role would be key in the development of a green public bank, which will be on the ballot next year, and potentially in starting a social housing program!
https://careers.sf.gov/role/?id=374399

LAFCo Policy Analyst - Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) - Board of Supervisors - (1823 Senior Administrative Analyst)
Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:Application Opening: November 25, 2025Filing Deadline: December 31, 2025 Recruitment ID: RTF0162212-01148363APPOINTMENT TYPEPermanent Exempt (PEX), Category 18: The San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) Policy Analyst position is exempt from Civil Service Rules and serves at the pleasure of the Appointing Officer, the Executive Officer of LAFCo. This is a limited term position with a maximum of one (1)…

BAIA, quien nos iba a decir que facilitando el acceso a una vivienda a personas sin hogar les iba a servir para rehacer su vida https://thebetter.news/housing-first-finland-homelessness/
Relacionado con esto, ayer estuve viendo "Yo, Daniel Blake" de Ken Loach …

Both Amazon & Microsoft cooperatively push for 5 policy changes to address housing crisis in WA state.
▶️ WA must make it easier to build our way out of housing crisis | The Seattle Times
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/wa-mu…

What @… said:
Providing employment after deployment = supporting troops
Providing housing = supporting troops
Destigmatizing mental health care = supporting troops
Preventing armed conflict = supporting troops
You know what’s NOT supporting troops? Starting wars as political cover for a failing president. Deploying National Guard just to terrorize people and provoke a backlash. Issuing illegal orders. •That• is not supporting troops.
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/115634994186527377

🌪️ The housing crisis is forcing Americans to choose between affordability and safety
https://theconversation.com/the-housing-crisis-is-forcing-americans-to-choose-between-affordability-and-safety-266136
<…

The housing crisis is forcing Americans to choose between affordability and safety
Priced out of ‘safe,’ more and more Americans are moving to flood plains and fire zones.

On housing for students at Ontario universities.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ontario-university-housing-survey/article_569933c2-2e92-4732-b7f0-4fc0ddde9e1f.html

Students at these two Ontario universities have lower rents, better commutes and more financial help from Mom and Dad
A report by research firm Studenthaus found national average rent for students this past fall was $1,146, with 66% of renters receiving family help.

I think that this could be a plot device for a modern day remake of Conan The Barbarian.
#Shitpost #Shitposting #ShamelesslyStolenFromSomewhereElseOnTheInternetHonestlyICantKeepTrackOfThisStuffAnymore

The SDA Housing Podcast
A leading voice in the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) sector, delivering in-depth discussions, expert insights, and the latest updates related to housing solutions for people with disabilities...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com/sda-…

This is the best critique of SF's Family Zoning Plan I've seen, from Fernando Martí, who knows his stuff.
“Zoning is not the primary constraint to construction today — not in SF where it costs $800,000 or more to build a unit of housing. Nor is environmental review or planning approvals. If these were the constraints to production, then we wouldn’t have tens of thousands of already approved market-rate units unable to get construction financing”

Series C, Episode 10 - Ultraworld
ORAC: The idiosyncratic syntax of riddles interests me. They seem to depend for their effect on solecisms and grammatical discrepancies.
VILA: Eh?
ORAC: Do you have another riddle for me to analyze?
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/310/228 B7B4

Just as during his first term, El Cheato is stealing money for military housing to use for his pet projects.
During the first term that pet project was "the wall".
Now it is to give "bonuses" to active military personnel.
In both cases this means reduced, or no, housing for military families - which is what Congress intended when that taxpayer money was appropriated.
"Trump’s $1,776 ‘warrior dividend’ repurposed from military housing aid"…

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Ultramagnetic MC’s:
🎵 Kool Keith Housing Things
#UltramagneticMCs
https://ultimatesoundz.bandcamp.com/track/kool-keith-housing-things
https://open.spotify.com/track/5I7GbWmphoJfZi6VnzUyGZ

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers https://edintone.com/work-housing-health/ In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. @…

Work, Housing and Health: Northampton Behind the Numbers - Miscellanea Edintone
In 1924, the boot and shoe industry dominated Northampton’s workforce. The Boot and Shoe Operatives Trade Union had 13,104 members; officials estimated that only 5% of adult workers were outside the union.

"We are watching one of the greatest wastes of money in history, all as people are told that there “just isn’t the money” to build things like housing, or provide Americans with universal healthcare, or better schools"
#Kleptocracy
#Enshittification

The Enshittifinancial Crisis
Soundtrack: Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird This piece is over 19,000 words, and took me a great deal of writing and research. If you liked it, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’

While immigrants do contribute to rising housing demand,
they are not the primary drivers of increasing housing costs.
Instead, factors such as housing shortages,
restrictive zoning laws,
and shifts in housing preferences in the wake of the pandemic
are the more dominant forces behind rising prices.
Furthermore, immigrant workers are essential to the housing supply, making up a crucial segment of the construction workforce that can address shortages and …

Vance Blames Immigrants, Biden in Response to Affordability Questions
There is no significant relationship between immigration rates and rising housing costs in the US, experts have said.

FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims made during Trump's first cabinet meeting of 2026 (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-cabinet-economy-housing-energy-health-california-f4b4fb985300724a7e717863626e5506
http://www.memeorandum.com/260129/p131#a260129p131

San Franciscans! Here's a petition you can sign asking Mayor Lurie and the board of supervisors to fund social housing. You might have seen the flyers around the city.
We voted to fund it with 2020's Prop I, but for obscure reasons of state law, the use of the revenue wasn't legally binding, only intended. And then-Mayor Breed refused to do it. But we can fund it now!

Fund San Francisco's Social Housing Program with Prop I Property Transfer Tax Revenue, as Promised!
In 2020, San Francisco voters passed Prop I which levied a transfer tax on properties worth over $10 million dollars. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution assuring voters it was their intention to spend the revenue from the new tax on a Social Housing Program. Social Housing is housing that is municipally-owned (or non-profit owned), permanently affordable, and available to a wider mix income than traditional public housing. Mayor Breed overruled the Board of Supervisors a…

Well that’s not good. Was taking advantage of the mild weather to use the 3” chipper/shredder on a bunch of downed branches on the hill in the back yard.
Not ten minutes in and a 2.5” branch jammed it. I had to disassemble half the housing to clear it. Then it still wouldn’t start, upon which time I noticed that the jam must have pushed the moving blade into the housing with force enough to shear off a piece of the housing.
Obviously not safe to continue. Warranty support initia…

That's neat.
#Madison #Housing #YIGBY

Fine letter from Kate Macintosh on UK Labour Party's irrational retention of the Right to Buy council housing. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/06/why-labour-lacks-credibility-when-it-comes-to-housing

An investor has calculated a poverty line of $137k/y "for a family of four to afford housing, health care, child care and other necessities", which is four times the current line. While I think location matters here, this national figure is still a good reminder of American wealth inequality.
https://wapo.st/44ymv6f

An investor called $140,000 the new poverty line. Experts disagreed but said he had a point.
Michael Green’s tally of the costs of raising a family in the U.S. today is going viral, even if some economists scoff at his math.

Aramark tells Yosemite workers it's axing most of their housing rights
https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/aramark-yosemite-employee-housing-21307621.php

"Philippines commissions 6.5 MW solar project for social housing"
#Philippines #SolarPower #Energy #Renewables

Philippines commissions 6.5 MW solar project for social housing
The 6.55 MW project, hailed as the world’s first grid-connected, solar rooftop project within a social housing community, equipped almost 2,000 houses with solar panels.

Tying housing costs to homelessness rates, researchers have identified inflection points:
🔸When rents in a community exceed about a third of the median income, homelessness escalates.
🔸“As the share of low-income households with severe rent burdens grows, so does their risk of homelessness,”
said Thomas Byrne of Boston College, an author of the study.
Gregg Colburn, a housing expert at the University of Washington, found that
Seattle and San Francisco, with so…

Trump Says ‘Housing First’ Failed the Homeless. Here’s What the Evidence Says.
The Trump administration has sought to move away from the model, which supporters call “evidence based” but opponents consider overly permissive.

Good Morning #Canada
Last week I registered with Ontario's Healthcare Connect program to help us get a family doctor in the Barrie area. Our previous family doctor retired in November and we were still covered by the clinic but it's in Brampton, more than 90 minutes away. So I'm now relying on Dougie to keep his promise to find a family doctor for all Ontarians by June 2026. I mean he's done so well with housing, environmental goals, Eglinton Crosstown....
Did you know that 83% of Canadians now report they have regular access to a family doctor which means an approximate 500K improvement in the past two years. That still leaves about 6M of us without a family physician. Family physician shortages are the highest in the territories (>55%), Quebec (21.5%) and British Columbia (17.7%), and the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia have the fewest family physicians per 100 000 persons in the population.
#CanadaIsAwesome #HealthCare
https://www.cihi.ca/en/taking-the-pulse-measuring-shared-priorities-for-canadian-health-care-2025/primary-health-care-2025/most-canadians-have-a-regular-health-care-provider

It's clearly a deliberate choice for the government - and the BBC - to centre "asylum seekers" as the source of abuse, when a closer reading suggests that it's taxi companies ripping off the commercial providers of asylum housing.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjn2y…

Government to ban asylum seekers from using taxis
The ban is set to come in February and any exemptions will have to be signed off by the Home Office.

20 states sue the Trump administration over cuts to homeless permanent housing funding (Katherine Hapgood/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/25/states-trump-administration-hud-housing-cuts-00668178
http://www.memeorandum.com/251125/p88#a251125p88

I donated a bit to Gary McCoy's campaign for District 8 supervisor in SF.
I'm hesitant to support merely "progressive" candidates since so many veer rightward after getting elected, like D8's current supe Mandelman, and recently D7 supe Melgar to a lesser degree.
But I really like Gary's platform, emphasizing non-police public safety programs; traffic calming as part of public safety; and pro-housing with emphasis on public investment, not just upzone an…

Priorities | Get Involved Today — Gary McCoy for District 8 Supervisor
Discover Gary McCoy's priorities for affordable housing, economic growth, and community development in District 8. Learn how he plans to support residents and local businesses.

If I understand correctly, the contracts for housing asylum-serkers in ramshackle hotels (because they can't work or access benefits) are open to rip-offs by hotel owners and the taxi firms contracted to do the transport.
So the people badly served are now further demonised and will mostly be denied help to get to health appointments.
Further demonisation.
Correct me if that's wrong because the news hasn't been very clear. BBC radio 4 played a part in this.

Sources: the US Senate's crypto market structure bill is likely to be delayed by several weeks as key lawmakers shift focus to potential housing legislation (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-21/…

🅿️ Denver study shows removing parking requirements results in more affordable housing being built
https://theconversation.com/denver-study-shows-removing-parking-requirements-results-in-more-affordable-housin…

Denver study shows removing parking requirements results in more affordable housing being built
Structured parking can cost as much as $50,000 per space, making housing more expensive to build and for those living there.

What appears to be a very successful example of district thermal. I wish more states understood the importance of energy efficiency as we transition off fossil fuels.
‘The LED of heating’: cheap geothermal energy system makes US comeback
https://www.…

What appears to be a very successful example of district thermal. I wish more states understood the importance of energy efficiency as we transition off fossil fuels.
‘The LED of heating’: cheap geothermal energy system makes US comeback
https://www.…

"Housing (for) a Post-Growth World: A Manifesto"
#degrowth

Housing (for) a Post-Growth World: A Manifesto
Providing housing for all is central to building any future.

“The case for upzoning is relatively solid but deeply underwhelming as a standalone position. The upshot is that everyone is at least partly right: Upzoning can address the shortfall in supply. But it won’t come close to solving the housing crisis alone. Re-enter: public housing.”
https://

The Solution to the Affordable Housing Problem That No One Wants to Discuss
There are new ideas for fixing this. And one very old one.

As one who studied the development and growth of cities, the passage of this measure has caused me to wonder how short sighted are some programs to increase housing stocks.
Like rent control, which over decades can erase rental property availability, this measure will slowly nudge builders to locate new single family home construction outside of our city limits. (The average single family home price in our area is among the highest in the US.)
I am less clear about the impact on…

Election 2025: Santa Cruz affordable housing advocates celebrate win on Measure C
Santa Cruz voters have approved Measure C, the housing advocate-supported ballot initiative, with more than 53% of the vote, while the competing Measure B, supported by local real estate interests, failed with just 11.9%. County officials continue counting ballots, with the next update on Friday at 4 p.m.

New York City housing advocate
Patrick Markee’s new book,
"Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age,"
looks at homelessness through the lens of housing affordability.
Homelessness, which affects millions across the United States,
“has roots in structural economic changes, right-wing economic policies and systemic racism,”
explains Markee.
“There’s a reason that other advanced capitalist countries in this world … don’t have the levels…

Homelessness Is About Affordability: Author Patrick Markee on the Housing Crisis in “New Gilded Age”
New York City housing advocate Patrick Markee’s new book, Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age, looks at homelessness through the lens of housing affordability. Homelessness, which affects millions across the United States, “has roots in structural economic changes, right-wing economic policies and systemic racism,” explains Markee. “There’s a reason that other advanced capitalist countries in this world … don’t have the levels of homelessness that we have, and that’s b…

Democratic president should use ICE money for:
- guaranteed jobs program
- workers to build housing
- Healthcare worker
take the money and redirect it.
#uspol

Ukraine’s military intelligence claims responsibility for explosion at Russian base in Ussuriysk housing the 80th brigade: https://benborges.xyz/2025/12/26/190052.html

Can't believe anything these criminals say.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wacky-number-economists-cry-foul-190154737.html

America's Housing Crisis, in One Chart (Ezra Klein/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/opinion/housing-crisis-america.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/251123/p15#a251123p15

Trump rebrands Congressionally-approved troop housing subsidy as ‘warrior dividend’ bonus - Defense One
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/trump-rebrands-congressionally-approved-troop-housing-subsidy-warrior-dividend-bonus/410250/

I couldn't agree more with this essay from Quintin Mecke, director of CCHO, a group of community affordable housing non-profits. When SF "moderate" politicians underfund housing, it's not something they're forced to do. It's not fiscal responsibility. It's a political choice and a disastrous one.

The Fiction of Scarcity: Why San Francisco Must Choose Action Over Austerity in 2026
San Francisco Has the Wealth. It Lacks the Will.

"Hey Doug... we bought a bunch of those Stag and Doe tickets so you gotta put a stop on forcing us to build affordable housing..." - Developers who totally didn't buy Ford.
#onpoli #AffordableHousing
https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-hall/ford-government-pause-affordable-housing-rules-new-toronto-buildings-11733993

The Trump administration has sought to punish its enemies through mortgage fraud investigations overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency
and through criminal probes that Trump personally demanded the attorney general pursue.

Enlisting the Pentagon in this effort poses a unique threat to American democracy, according to historians, retired military officers and legal experts.
Long-standing taboos against using the armed forces to further a president’s political machi…

Hegseth conscripts the Pentagon for Trump’s ‘retribution campaign’
In threatening to deploy the military justice system against Democrats, Hegseth has joined Trump’s norm-shattering bid to punish political foes.

With growing interest in social housing in SF, maybe it’s a good time to re-up this Q&A I hosted last month. In addition to lessons from Seattle, @… goes over SF efforts so far, so it’s a great way to get up to speed!

Municipal Social Housing: What can California learn from Seattle’s win? — California DSA
By now, San Francisco is famous not just for unaffordable rent, but also for its acrimonious debates about how to solve the problem. One well-funded contingent asserts it’s all about making it easier and cheaper to build privately owned homes, but as even the corporate media is now noting, we’ve don

JD Vance blames the US housing shortage on immigrants....just as Hitler & the Nazis blamed Germany's housing shortage on the Jews.
See below.
Original post: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:moye3apncjjbyqgb7orp5quj/post/3m5kmfd4jo42i

Top Articles of 2025: The Rental Housing Market Holds Strong
"The U.S. rental housing market remained strong and stable in 2025, with narrowing supply‑demand gaps, rising investment activity, and rent growth in line with pre‑pandemic levels."

Top Articles of 2025: The Rental Housing Market Holds Strong
The U.S. rental housing market remained strong and stable in 2025, spreading through the multifamily and single-family rentals sectors. Here’s a look at this year's top articles from Arbor Realty Trust, in case you missed them.

A hulking home addition is dividing neighbors and stumping officials
-- and it's not a ballroom
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/11/22/fairfax-virginia-housing-addition-dispute/

A hulking home addition is dividing neighbors and stumping officials
A three-story home addition in Fairfax County, Virginia, has divided a neighborhood and led to constant attention and, in some cases, harassment.

Trump's Plan to Cut Homelessness Programs Is Getting Pushback From Republicans (Raymond Fernšndez/NOTUS)
https://www.notus.org/housing/hud-homelessness-programs-republicans
http://www.memeorandum.com/251125/p116#a251125p116

I’m helping put together a campaign for municipal #socialHousing here in San Francisco. If you’re already familiar with social housing, how would you define it? If you’re newer to the idea, what’s a question you have about social housing, or something you hope it can achieve?

Federal judge temporarily blocks HUD permanent housing cuts for homeless (Cassandra Dumay/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/19/judge-blocks-hud-permanent-housing-cuts-00700477
http://www.memeorandum.com/251219/p73#a251219p73

Soldiers at US-Mexico border lived with ‘leaking raw sewage’
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/soldier-housing-southern-border-mission/

Good Morning #Canada
On this day in 1948, the longest serving political leader in the British Commonwealth retired. William Lyon Mackenzie King served 21 years and 154 days as Prime Minister of Canada, in non-consecutive terms, from 1921–1926, 1926–1930, and 1935–1948. He led Canada through the Great Depression, introduced Old Age Pensions, nationalized the Bank of Canada, passed the 1938 National Housing Act to improve housing affordability, established the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Trans-Canada Air Lines, and the National Film Board, and implemented Unemployment Insurance. His government was also responsible for Japanese Internment Camps, and he believed strongly in the occult.
This video from TVO is an excellent overview of King's career. It's probably a two coffee viewing this morning if you have the time, but IMO worth the investment.
#CanadaIsAwesome #CanadianHeroes
https://www.tvo.org/video/mackenzie-king-at-150

Donald Trump On Race:
💥"And we just clean out that whole thing … I don’t know, something has to happen, but it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.
– 👉Suggesting Palestinian displacement onboard Air Force One, 25 January 2025
💥"Then it’s a group w…

Democrat Khanna refloats bill to block investors from buying up homes after Trump proposal
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/18/trump-khanna-housing-investor-ban.html

Lurie admin "blamed the plan to stall housing at 101 Hyde on the state’s designation of the Tenderloin as a low-resourced area, which puts it down on the priority list for state funding."
SF has the third most billionaires of any city in the world. One of them is our mayor. Not having funds for affordable housing is a choice.

Plans for affordable housing at shuttered S.F. food hall site stuck in limbo 
La Cocina’s space in the Tenderloin was pitched as a community hub with cheap eats, and eventually affordable housing. Neither is happening.

The Trump administration is upending its homelessness policy,
with deep cuts to funding for long-term housing.
Instead, it will shift money toward transitional housing that requires work and addiction treatment.
170,000 people could be at risk of losing their housing 
Critics warn the major overhaul could put 170,000 people at risk of losing their housing again.
And they say the timing is terrible.
Normally, funding notices go out months earlier, but now pro…

Trump is on his way to Davos, where his quest to own Greenland could overshadow his other goals (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-davos-housing-greenland-gaza-a2f3f4c18ba321c8025a3e208fc0ddf6
http://www.memeorandum.com/260121/p106#a260121p106

"'We do respect and appreciate the temporary activation but it’s time to start moving forward on the original purpose for this site,' Mahmood said, referring to affordable housing."
Ok good start, now do Parcel K in Hayes Valley. Or is this Mahmood's stance only in poor parts of his district?

S.F. moves to accelerate stalled housing at Tenderloin food hall site
San Francisco officials have changed course and committed to seek developers for the La Cocina site within the next two years.

Trump claims he wants to lower housing costs,
but his allies in the House just axed a bipartisan bill that UNANIMOUSLY passed the Senate to do just that.
If Republicans keep blocking legislation to cut housing costs,
Democrats will pass it ourselves when we take back Congress.
https://bsky.…

Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov)
Trump claims he wants to lower housing costs, but his allies in the House just axed a bipartisan bill that UNANIMOUSLY passed the Senate to do just that. If Republicans keep blocking legislation to cut housing costs, Democrats will pass it ourselves when we take back Congress.

Rep. Eric Swalwell sues housing official who's made multiple criminal referrals for Trump critics (Scott MacFarlane/CBS News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-swalwell-lawsuit-bill-pulte-criminal-referral/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251125/p111#a251125p111

"In a major shift, HUD’s plan would direct most of the $3.5 billion in homelessness funds away from Housing First to programs that prioritize work and drug treatment."
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants - The New York Times
https://archive.ph/54oxw

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades burned through the night,
leaving at least 44 people dead and 279 reported missing
with rescuers still pulling residents from blazing high-rise apartment buildings into the morning.
Police had arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with fire
which began Wednesday afternoon in a housing complex in Tai Po district, a suburb in the New Territories.
By Thursday morning local time, the fire was yet to be pu…

3 arrested in Hong Kong, as a high-rise fire leaves at least 44 dead and 279 reported missing
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades burned through the night, leaving at least 44 people dead and 279 reported missing with rescuers still pulling residents from blazing high-rise a...

Bronx building Mamdani used to showcase new housing commish's talents has 200 violations -- after favored nonprofit ran it into the ground (Rich Calder/New York Post)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/11/us-news/bronx-building-mamdani-highlighted-to-showcase-nycs-new-housing-commissioners-talents-has-nearly-200-violations/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260111/p67#a260111p67

"Continuum of Care"
is the federal government’s flagship program to support state and local governments and non-profits in funding housing and other services for individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
The program is built on the principle that getting unhoused people housed can get them on a path to address other challenges.
But in the past months, the Trump administration has tried to issue sweeping policy shifts to the program,
some of which…

"Declining property values and home prices are understood as a sign of impending doom, rather than a cause for celebration, and so the system aims to keep prices on an upward slope."
Housing can't be a good investment and affordable
https://jewishcurrents.org/zohran-mamd

Zohran Mamdani Vs. the Real Estate State
Can the mayor-elect overcome the snares being set for his affordable housing agenda?

The San Francisco Housing Wonk Trying to Become the Next Pelosi (Owen Tucker-Smith/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/who-is-scott-wiener-san-francisco-california-27a26d76
http://www.memeorandum.com/251225/p22#a251225p22

It’s definitely a long shot.
But Rae Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer, minister and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America,
is making her move, throwing her hat into the ring for mayor of Los Angeles.
The virtually unknown candidate is the deputy director of Housing Now California,
a coalition that fights displacement of tenants at the state and local levels.
Huang, who announced a campaign launch on Sunday, i…

She's challenging Bass from the left. Could she become L.A.'s Mamdani?
Rae Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer and democratic socialist, is waging a long-shot campaign for L.A. mayor, focusing on free buses, public housing and police abuse.

Immigrant families protest inside Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota (Berenice Garcia/Associated Press)
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/01/24/immigration-facility-protest-texas-liam-conejo-ramos/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260125/p17#a260125p17

Zohran Mamdani stands by 'housing justice' appointee Cea Weaver -- as Trump admin warns he 'should be on notice' (New York Post)
https://nypost.com/2026/01/06/us-news/zohran-mamdani-stands-by-housing-justice-appointee-cea-weaver/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260106/p115#a260106p115

Housing affordability has declined sharply in recent decades,
⚠️ leading many younger generations to give up on homeownership.
Using a calibrated life-cycle model matched to U.S. data, we project that
the cohort born in the 1990s will reach retirement with a homeownership rate roughly 9.6 percentage points lower than that of their parents’ generation.
The model also shows that as households’ perceived probability of attaining homeownership falls,
they systemati…

Didn't realize Katie Wilson identified as a socialist! Cool. https://komonews.c…

Mayor-elect Katie Wilson urges unity, community, collective responsibility in Seattle
Seattle's new Mayor-elect Katie Wilson is set to address the public regarding her election and upcoming role as mayor on Thursday afternoon.

Michael Burry,
who famously shorted the US housing market before its collapse in 2008,
has bet over $1 billion that the share prices of AI chipmaker Nvidia and software company Palantir will fall
— making a similar play, in other words, on the prediction that
the AI industry will collapse.

The Big Short Guy Just Bet $1 Billion That the AI Bubble Pops
Michael Burry, who shorted the housing market in 2008, has bet over $1 billion that the shares of AI companies Nvidia and Palantir will fall.

The real reason people move to red states
The “U-Haul index” does not prove a point -- or at least the point the WaPo Editorial Board makes.
Yes, people are moving from more expensive to less expensive areas,
but why are those areas more expensive?
Many factors play into the calculation, but one is obvious and significant:
Real estate is more expensive where people want to live.
Tax rates by themselves don’t make real estate expensive;
ultimate…

The real reason people move to red states
Housing, money and the cure to loneliness, in readers’ eyes.