Suburbs aren’t, and won’t be, what they were

Welcome home–not so much! (Flickr photo by Pierre Metivier)

When it comes to the suburbs and especially the exurbs, look back to the cities.  Consider these facts:

• Three quarters of recent college graduates and young professionals say they plan to live in an urban core even if it costs them more money than elsewhere and their living space is smaller;
• Baby Boomers are listing their suburban homes to live near urban amenities;
• Household size continues to diminish along with household formation;
• The housing crisis has caused plunging building permits, undeveloped subdivisions and price increases that lag the cities;
• The flagging economy has pushed up unemployment rates and poverty in the exurbs;
• Real estate investors have no interest in suburban office parks and commercial real estate in more distant suburbs.

Those are not my observations, but

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