People often think of the construction industry as a single, monolithic entity of laborers in yellow hard hats, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The industry consists of a large number of firms, most of which are small and operate locally, and it spans numerous different occupations, from sheet metal workers to building inspectors to plumbers. An analysis of the … [Read more...]
America’s New Metropolitan Landscape: Pockets Of Dense Construction In A Dormant Suburban Interior
Source: https://ggwash.org In “The Great American Single-Family Home Problem,” New York Times reporter Conor Dougherty drives home the point that the high cost of housing in America’s expensive coastal cities can be addressed by densifying the suburban landscape. At first glance this may seem obvious; combatting price appreciation calls for building more homes, and … [Read more...]
Salesforce Tower: A Dozen Years in the Making
By Kelsey Graeber and Sasha David If a building could symbolize the power of Silicon Valley, the Salesforce Tower would be a good pick. Its silhouette rises above the San Francisco skyline like a monument to the rapidly growing tech industry, establishing its prominence over buildings like the Transamerica Tower - once the tallest structure in the city. Even its address, 415 … [Read more...]
BuildZoom Research: A Year in Review
As 2017 comes to an end, we decided to round up some of our favorite studies and reports from the past year. We use public data as well as data from BuildZoom’s national building permit database to better understand the construction market, and this year our work fell into two broad categories: Research concerning urban growth and housing affordability, and how they … [Read more...]
The Outflow of Bay Area Residents Spreads to Higher Income Levels
A condensed version of this post appeared in SPUR's magazine, The Urbanist, in December. What happened: The median household income of those leaving the Bay Area and those moving into the region reached new highs. In 2016, the median household income of people moving out of the Bay Area reached $81,500 while that of new residents reached $90,000. This makes the Bay Area … [Read more...]