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Facilities and Real Estate

A 30-year trap: The problem with America’s weird mortgages
The New York Times

A 30-year trap: The problem with America’s weird mortgages

According to research co-authored by Susan M. Wachter of the Wharton School, nearly 10% of U.S. homes were in foreclosure at one point during the early 1930s.

Penn’s urban forest in fall
autumn leaves at the quad

nocred

Penn’s urban forest in fall

Penn’s West Philadelphia campus is home to 240 different tree species, which put on a show during the fall season.

Kristina García

Home prices could come down. What it would take
Barron’s

Home prices could come down. What it would take

Susan Wachter of the Wharton School says that affordable homeownership has long been considered an achievable cornerstone of the American dream, but now that role is increasingly in question.

You’ve never had it so good. That’s why you’re stuck
The Wall Street Journal

You’ve never had it so good. That’s why you’re stuck

A paper by Lu Liu of the Wharton School and colleagues suggests that the larger the gap between homeowners’ mortgage rates and the going rate for a new loan the less likely they are to move.

Airbnb and VRBO customers have fewer options in Philly as new laws take hold
Philadelphia Inquirer

Airbnb and VRBO customers have fewer options in Philly as new laws take hold

A study from the Wharton School found that short-term rentals are often concentrated in areas where rental housing is dominant, with each 1% increase of Airbnb listings in a ZIP code creating a small increase in rents and house prices.

What’s That? Locust Walk Compass
Students walk around a compass embedded in Locust Walk on Penn campus.

nocred

What’s That? Locust Walk Compass

The granite compass embedded in Locust Walk has become the source of a campus legend.

Kristen de Groot