Housing

Repairing a Houston home can lift a neighborhood, but help is needed amid limited funds

Regardless of natural disasters, homes fall into needing repair — be it because of the age of a dwelling, ability of its residents to perform maintenance, or even disuse. According to a Kinder Institute for Urban Research report, 60% of residents in the Houston area have needed a home repair in the past year.

A Houston initiative helped 2,000 people of color become homeowners — but there’s more work to do

After renting for the majority of her adult life, Tonia Macklin recently became a homeowner for the first time. The native of southeast Houston achieved this goal with the assistance of the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative’s Own the HOU initiative, a multiorganization effort that seeks to bridge the homeownership gap for people of color.

Houston’s rising homeowner insurance rates aren’t helping a widening affordability gap

Homeowners looking for a break from rising costs will probably not get any as recent disasters are pushing insurance rates higher.

Housing Repair Needs Reported by Residents of Houston and Harris County

The Kinder Institute surveyed Houston and Harris County residents in targeted neighborhoods about the condition of their homes and neighborhoods.

Master-planned community in northeast Houston puts affordable housing within reach

Last year, Nura Jemal, her husband and two sons lived in a two-bedroom apartment in southwest Houston. But with a third son on the way, they began to reconsider their living arrangement.

Mobility, Opportunity Neighborhoods, and Family Impacts

This study, conducted in collaboration with the Houston Housing Authority, explores families' experiences with housing voucher programs, including HHA's new mobility program.

Why Houston’s progress on homelessness is in jeopardy

Homelessness is an ongoing challenge for the Greater Houston area, but one it handles better than most of its peers. That may soon change if new sources of funding are not secured by 2025.

Webinar: 2024 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston

This webinar will focus on findings from the 2024 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report. A panel discussion with local experts will follow. 

The 2024 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston

The 2024 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report explores the implications of increasing homeownership costs in the region.

How homeownership is changing throughout Houston and Harris County

Buying a home continues to be a good investment: It has a better rate of return than most other investments, and unlike stocks, a home provides shelter, a fundamental human need. Unfortunately, it is an investment that far exceeds the grasp of many Houston-area residents.

After getting the lights back on, what’s Houston’s biggest problem going forward?

Over the course of about four weeks early in 2024, residents across Harris County were asked their opinions on a variety of topics as part of the Kinder Houston Area Survey. That includes a question that has been asked every year since the survey’s founding in 1982: “What would you say is the biggest problem facing people in the Houston area today?”

Kinder Houston Area Survey: 2024 Results

The 43rd annual Kinder Houston Area Survey provides an unparalleled look at current conditions in the region as well as the “Houston of Tomorrow.”

Houston area led nation in issuing building permits for housing in 2023

Preliminary data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that the Houston metropolitan statistical area led the nation in building permit activity for housing in 2023, with 50,444 single-family homes making up the majority of the 68,755 permits issued for residential units.

Housing Quality Registry

Working with community organizations, the Kinder Institute is engaged in an effort to survey residents in targeted neighborhoods about the condition of their homes and neighborhoods.

National report: Houston metro is second-worst for providing affordable housing options

A new national report suggests the Houston metro area is one of the worst in the country when it comes to affordable housing options for its lowest-income households.