Seven years ago, Rebecca Devine left a large communications agency to found Maven Communications, a public relations firm that develops communications strategies for numerous residential and commercial real estate (CRE) companies. Read what she has to say about how CRE firms can boost their online social influence as well as examples of companies that have had success with new media.

According to demographer William Frey with the Brookings Institution public policy research center, there is a “growing divide” between parts of the country experiencing gains and losses in children under age 15—a finding that has implications for ULI members.

Around the country, some midsize cities are now shrinking—but green space is replacing boarded-up homes; single-family houses are rising where crowded cinder-block apartment complexes once stood; and individuals and couples are moving into rehabilitated homes that once housed families of eight. Learn how municipalities like Youngstown, Ohio, are trying to make shrinking work to their advantage.

A number of long-range forecasts show that demographic changes and a shift in customer preferences will lead to increased demand for urban living. For example, Robert Charles Lesser & Co. indicates that 77 percent of generation Y plans to live in an urban core. Learn the specifics of what all this research says about the major boost for the apartment market that is expected in the coming years.

Seniors’ housing is moving back into the city and near a transit stop to appeal to baby boomers, the first wave of whom have already turned 65. Rather than being a seniors’ enclave, this new style of housing for seniors is intended to be integrated with the community and offer amenities and convenience. Read more to learn how the Long Beach Senior Arts Colony in California intends to do just that.

Texas was the last state affected by the recession and is one of the first to emerge. It benefits from population and job growth and from being a business- and tax-friendly state. Read about the bright spots in the state’s real estate sector—including major markets like Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin—and learn which sectors hold the most promise.

In recent years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have kept the apartment market afloat, but now private lenders also are warming to the task. At the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, experts voiced their concerns about lenders who know nothing about the sector flooding the market. Also, lenders’ ability to remain disciplined in the face of strong competition for borrowers was mentioned.

By some estimates, 70 percent of seniors today are living in the same place they celebrated their 65th birthday, known as aging in place. Though aging in place is not a new concept, says ULI Senior Resident Fellow John McIlwain, its impact today is dramatic because of the rapid growth of seniors in the United States. Read what cities are doing to accommodate this expanding demographic group in light of today’s limited municipal resources.

On Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, HUD, and the Treasury sent out a joint Request for Information on ways the government might rent out the 250,000 homes that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA currently own. With the inventory of such homes owned by Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA expected to continue growing, is this the right move for the federal government to make?

Internet giant Google is among a number of new investors in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) that have breathed new life into the affordable housing sector. However, the market is currently in flux: high yields that characterized the affordable housing market in 2009–2010 have returned to more normal levels—requiring those who want to enter the LIHTC arena to do their homework.