Call for Papers: Demographic Dynamics and Housing Affordability

Housing Studies invites submissions by February 1, 2026, for a workshop and special issue on the relationships between demographic dynamics and housing.

Population growth has long been recognized as a primary driver of the demand for housing. The last century witnessed rapid growth in population from 3 billion in 1960 to 8 billion in 2023, with urban areas growing by 3.6 billion during that period, contributing to persistent housing shortages and a global affordability crisis (UN 2024). At the same time, rapid demographic shifts towards lower fertility have impacted an increasing number of countries. As of 1960, only 4% of the world population lived in countries with a fertility rate below 2.1, the replacement level, which is in contrast to 73% of the population by 2021 (van Doornik et al. 2024). Due to the rapid decrease in fertility, overall population growth is projected to fall in coming decades, with the UN median projection of a peak in population of 10 billion in 2085 and a decrease afterwards with many countries expected to experience an accelerated aging and a decrease in overall population in coming decades.

The extent to which housing unaffordability contributes to these demographic shifts is an emerging area of scholarship (Dettling and Kearney 2014; Hacamo 2021; Pan and Yang 2022; Cumming and Dettling 2024; van Doornik et al. 2024; Dettling and Kearney 2025). Further research is necessary to disentangle the interplay between housing markets and demographic dynamics.

This call for papers is seeking contributions that examine the impact of demographic changes on housing markets as well as the impact of housing markets on demographic choices. The latter area is where a substantial knowledge gap exists. We welcome theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative studies that make conceptual or empirical contributions. Invited contributions include studies with identification strategies that uncover causal mechanisms and evaluate policy effectiveness, but also descriptive studies that establish and document stylized facts, as well as critical and interdisciplinary contributions. We welcome studies for single or multiple countries in any part of the world, given that demographic transitions and housing affordability challenges are happening in very different institutional and market contexts. Topics of particular interest include:

How affordability, together with tenure systems and local housing market structures, affects household formation, coresidence (including intergenerational living), and marriage/childbearing. Evaluation of housing policies or market mechanisms that may support marriage/childbearing (e.g., housing allowances, first-home subsidies, rent regulation, tax/transfer design, public housing access rules).
Price effects of demand shifts tied to household formation and coresidence, and the residential supply response to such demographically induced shifts.

Submission Instructions

We invite contributions that address the topic of the Special Issue from different disciplinary backgrounds and apply various theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Submissions are due by February 1, 2026 (11:59 pm, EST). Preference will be given to completed drafts, but extended abstracts will be considered. Selected completed papers will undergo external peer review; final acceptance will follow Housing Studies’ standard editorial process and rests with the journal’s editors.

Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit the full paper drafts and participate in our workshop to be held at Seoul National University on May 25, 2026 (participation is optional; travel support is not available).

Instructions for authors regarding the formal preparation of their full papers are available on the Housing Studies’ website. When submitting your manuscript through the online system (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/chos), you need to indicate that it is a submission to this Special Issue.

If you have any questions about the special issue, please contact Arthur Acolin: acolin@uw.edu

Who should apply

Different disciplinary backgrounds, including all areas related to housing, demography, finance, and real estate are welcome.
Papers with a demographic focus are encouraged but not mandatory.
Theoretical, qualitative, and quantitative studies that make conceptual or empirical contributions are welcome, as are well-developed case studies
We ask you not to submit a paper that has been accepted for publication in a journal.
We encourage submissions by PhD students in advanced stages of their studies.
Presenters of accepted papers may act as discussants. Ample time will be provided for paper sessions.