Celebrating a Year at PD&R and Looking Forward to 2026

Celebrating a Year at PD&R and Looking Forward to 2026

By John Gibbs, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research

Greetings!

It has been just over a year since I took over as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). In that time, I have had the privilege of leading PD&R's efforts to ensure that policymakers and leaders have the data and research necessary to ensure that American families and communities are vibrant and thriving. During the past 12 months, we have advanced PD&R's mission to produce gold-standard, cutting-edge research and analysis that strive to ensure that all Americans can access homes that are safe, healthy, and affordable. In this message, I would like to reflect on some of PD&R's most important achievements over the past year and preview some of our priorities for the coming year. 

Innovative Housing Showcase

From September 6 to 10, 2025, HUD hosted the fifth annual Innovative Housing Showcase on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. PD&R sponsors and hosts this annual event to elevate innovative technologies and novel building practices that reimagine how to construct American homes. The event, which Secretary Turner hosted, was attended by leadership from HUD, other federal partners, the private sector, and thousands of members of the public. We also invited leading experts and political leaders to share their insights on financing, regulatory barriers, innovative construction, and Opportunity Zones. You can learn more about the event in another PD&R Edge post I authored here. 

PD&R Quarterly Update

On September 18, 2025, PD&R hosted a PD&R Quarterly event on the nexus of family formation and housing policy. The event's highlight was a keynote address from Dr. Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and director of the National Marriage Project. Professor Wilcox's presentation considered how federal means-tested programs — including some major HUD programs — penalize marriage among low-income families. The event concluded with a panel discussion including partners from HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, the private sector, and faith-based organizations. You can watch the event and learn more here. 

Publications

In 2025, PD&R continued publishing cutting edge research, analysis, and reports. PD&R published 3 Quarterly National Housing Market Summaries, 10 monthly National Housing Market Indicator reports, 23 Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses for various metropolitan areas, and 32 local housing market profiles. PD&R regularly provided updates in our biweekly publication PD&R Edge, including a new column, "Housing at 250," celebrating 250 years of American housing history, policy, and trends. We also published an issue of Cityscape, PD&R's renowned research journal, focusing on the critical issue of economic self-sufficiency. You can learn more about, read, and download all of PD&R's publications, research, and data at HUDUser.gov.

Data

In addition to research and publications, PD&R continued to collect, manage, and share critical housing and economic data for the benefit of stakeholders within the federal government and beyond. In collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau, we published nine separate data releases on new construction, building permits, manufactured housing, and housing market absorption. Our staff continued to support and update critical resources, including HUD's Picture of Subsidized Households. Among the data-focused efforts to highlight are HUD's revisions to the American Housing Survey (AHS), with the overall goal of making AHS a continuous survey. These efforts will improve the quality of AHS data, increase the frequency of data collection, and decrease overall taxpayer costs.

Looking Forward

As I enter my second year, I am excited to shape and lead research efforts that advance key national housing priorities. The research topics that we intend to engage this year include the following:

• Housing policy research focusing on housing affordability, immigration and housing, homelessness, and Opportunity Zones.
• Leveraging robotics and artificial intelligence to increase efficiency in home production.
• Using automation to reduce permitting timelines in home production.
• Incentivizing marriage and family formation in HUD programs as a way out of poverty.

Thank you for your support as we engage in critical research to provide solutions to the nation's housing affordability crisis.