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The latest new voice suggesting city centers are the place to be: Fitch Ratings. In what Joe Cortright calls “maybe the most under-reported story of the year” for urbanists, the investment rating agency shows housing demand shifting towards urban centers “in nearly every city analyzed.”

According to Fitch, downtown home values maintained the advantage throughout the crash and recovery–and show no sign of slowing down:

Significant demand is returning to city centers following decades of suburban and exurban growth. Since 2000, home prices have grown 50% faster in urban centers than in the broader MSA areas, with population growth trends beginning to favor city centers as well. ‘This demand shift implies that city centers will continue to see growth even where regional prices have been stagnant, such as Atlanta or Chicago,” said Director Stefan Hilts.

As Cortright points out, this is a powerful signal that the market wants not just more housing in our great urban neighborhoods–it wants more great urban neighborhoods. I previously covered that survey by the National Board of Realtors showing that 25% of Americans are living in single-family homes even though they’d prefer to live in an attached home in a more walkable neighborhoods: the report from Fitch shows people are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

This is why it’s so important that we invest in placemaking, in “Redevelopment Ready” practices, and in transportation choices like transit, biking, and walking. Michigan can’t afford to go slowly when it comes to bringing our supply of great places up to where the demand is.

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