ED Now

The Federal Reserve has raised its targeted federal funds rate by 75 basis points, Chair Jerome Powell announced at a news conference on July 27. July’s tightening is the latest aggressive action the Fed has taken as part of its “war on inflation” this year. The Fed aims to reduce inflation to 2 percent from its June level of 9.1 percent. Powell stated that economic growth must be slower in the coming years for the economy to reach that target. Powell’s remarks made it clear that the Fed believes inflation is the biggest problem facing the U.S. economy. However, the rate hike comes at a time when many Americans fear a coming recession or believe the economy is already in one. The day after Powell’s news ...

The Lay of The Land: Pandemic Impacts on Real Estate and Economic Developers’ Responses is a three-part series from IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP) that examines today’s real estate realities and economic developers’ responses to them. The third brief focuses on tools, strategies, and resources for real estate and economic development. It includes an assessment of housing and industrial development and outlines emerging strategies EDOs can use to meet demand. The first step for EDOs getting involved in any type of new real estate investment is completing a needs assessment for the region. A needs assessment outlines the strengths and weaknesses of a community and market supply and demand, which ...

The Lay of The Land: Pandemic Impacts on Real Estate and Economic Developers’ Responses is a three-part series from IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP) that examines today’s real estate realities and economic developers’ responses to them. The second brief focuses on solving problems and provides case studies on what EDOs are doing to take action in the face of the current real estate market. The housing and industrial sectors of the real estate market are major focuses for innovative economic development action and programming. Demand continues to exceed supply, and prices remain unaffordable for many looking to engage in these two sectors. Two case studies from the brief are highlighted below. ...

Aaron N. Gruen, principal of the urban-economics, market-research, land-use policy, and pre-development services firm Gruen Gruen + Associates, shares his thoughts on how to combat skyrocketing gas and housing costs.

The Lay of The Land: Pandemic Impacts on Real Estate and Economic Developers’ Responses is a three-part series from IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP) on economic development in the real estate field. The first brief details what economic developers are experiencing in the development of housing and industrial, retail, and office space. IEDC surveyed economic developers in March 2022 to gauge how real estate in their communities has changed during the pandemic. The survey found a shift in attention towards residential and industrial development, with both having the challenge of demand far outpacing supply. Many EDOs are getting more involved in the production of attainably priced homes as part of their ...