Most economists agree that home sales will remain in a slump for at least the next few years, but demand for apartments is accelerating. This trend is expected to continue over the next decade, due largely to the echo boom generation’s (Echo Boomers) coming of age and entering the rental market.

The appeal of close-in neighborhoods is rising due to their proximity to major employment centers and to transit options—unlike far-flung exurbs, many of which are experiencing a high volume of foreclosures resulting from the recession. Read about ULI CEO Patrick Phillips’s keynote presentation on the subject at the “Sustainable Suburbs: Re-Imagining the Inner Ring” event.

More than 1 million senior citizens typically move every year to a new locale to spend their golden years. So what are the most popular retirement destinations? The American City Business Journals, which publishes Business Journal newspapers in many major metros, recently used a six-part formula to rank the most popular places for retirees. Read the resulting list of top 10 destinations for seniors.

“By integrating one of the oldest buildings in Milpitas within a new, high-density community, the city is able to grow while still maintaining the continuity and historic feel of its city center.” Read about the seniors’ housing project in California—honored in the 2009 ULI Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition—that inspired this description.

At the NAHB’s spring construction forecast conference late last month, economists agreed that the next 12 months are going to be difficult for homebuilders. After that, however, momentum is expected to begin to build in 2012 and, by the end of that year, homebuilders may be where they were at the beginning of 2007. Read the data on future single-family starts that industry experts shared.

With a strong economy led by government, education, and health care, the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, area consistently ranks among the nation’s best economies. Read what local insiders have to say about how the multifamily sector and the Class A warehouse segments have improved, as well as what’s in store for the retail and office sectors in the Research Triangle area in 2011.

Federal financial regulators’ qualified residential mortgage (QRM) proposals for the home loan market have been attacked by housing, lending, and consumer groups since they were issued at the end of March, but the agencies’ proposals for the CMBS market have generated relatively little heat. Read what these proposals entail and how they are poised to affect the real estate industry going forward.

Republicans and Democrats are in rare agreement that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed in their mission to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the housing market and consequently should be either dismantled or radically altered. Lawmakers are virtually unanimous in the belief that the public/private Fannie/Freddie model is untenable. But there is a huge impediment to quick restructuring.

Four experts examine the trends affecting urban mixed-use development, including near-term development prospects, the best sources of financing, and the right mix of uses. Read what one considers the biggest game changer, and learn about the impact advances in social/interactive technologies may have on the sector.

Demand for affordable housing tax credits is exceeding supply for the first time since the recession started digging in three years back, which bodes well for more affordable housing construction ahead. And it does not hurt that land, labor, materials, and capital costs are still largely well below where they were five years ago.