About

Arthur Acolin is an Associate Professor and Bob Filley Endowed Professor in the Runstad Department of Real Estate in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. He obtained his Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development from the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on housing economics, with particular emphasis on international housing policy and finance across regions such as the US, Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. His work investigates how housing market institutions and market designs influence household access to housing, including tenure choice, housing consumption, and mobility decisions. He aims to identify barriers to homeownership and rentership and explores market and policy interventions to overcome these barriers. His teaching includes courses on real estate economics, market analysis, finance, housing markets, and policy at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Research topics

• Labour economics
• Demographic economics
• Business
• Machine Learning
• Computer Science
• Economics
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Geography
• Regional science
• Cartography
• Demography
• Public economics
• Socioeconomics
• Psychology
• Economic geography
• Mathematics
• Statistics

Selected publications

• Coresidence: How parental characteristics matter

  Real Estate Economics · 2026-01-03

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Coresidence in the parental home is known to depend on young adult characteristics and market conditions, but there is more limited knowledge on whether or how parental characteristics matter. We model the coresidence outcome as a multigenerational joint optimization decision and use Panel Study of Income Dynamics data to examine the association of parental housing and wealth with young adult coresidence. The findings show that parental financial capacity is negatively associated with the likelihood of coresidence. Housing capacity, captured by the size and ownership status of the parental home, is positively associated with the likelihood of coresidence. We observe a stronger association of parental wealth and housing capacity with coresidence in less affordable markets and over time.

  PublisherDOI

• Economic Mobility or Safety Net? Examining Employment Status and Wage Trajectories of Housing Choice Voucher Recipients

  Housing Policy Debate · 2025-12-04 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Coresidence: How Parental Characteristics Matter

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Magnitude and variation of maintenance expenditures in rental properties in the United States

  Journal of Housing and the Built Environment · 2025-03-10 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Pursuing healthy homeownership: an evaluation of the neighborhood health trajectories of shared equity homeowners

  BMC Public Health · 2025-01-02 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Shared equity homeownership - a model in which low- and moderate-income households purchase homes at affordable prices on the condition that the houses remain affordable upon resale - has been shown to produce several health-enhancing housing outcomes. These include permanent affordability, housing stability, and modest wealth-building. However, studies suggest low- and moderate-income households may sacrifice neighborhood quality when becoming homeowners, which can undermine the health benefits of homeownership. To understand the health impacts of the shared equity homeownership model more fully, it is important to evaluate participants' neighborhood health trajectories - how their neighborhood health environments change when they move into homeownership - and how these trajectories compare to those of similar households entering traditional homeownership and those continuing to rent. METHODS: We conducted difference-in-differences analyses comparing changes in neighborhood health characteristics (walkability, food access, socio-economic vulnerability, and life expectancy) for US households moving into shared equity homeownership between 1997 and 2017 compared to households moving into traditional homeownership and those continuing to rent. Shared equity homeowner data was obtained through the Grounded Solutions Network HomeKeeper National Data Hub and households from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics served as matched controls for the analysis. All data on neighborhood characteristics were obtained from publicly available, census tract-level datasets. RESULTS: Compared to households entering traditional homeownership, households entering shared equity homeownership experienced a relative increase in walkability (difference-in-differences 1.07, p = 0.004), increase in food access (0.13, p < 0.001), increase in socio-economic vulnerability (0.06, p = 0.02), and similar life expectancy. Compared to households moving between rental units, households entering shared equity homeownership experienced similar trajectories in terms of walkability and food access but experienced a relative increase in socio-economic vulnerability (0.06, p = 0.01) and decrease in average neighborhood life expectancy (-0.64, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Households entering shared equity homeownership avoid the sacrifices in neighborhood walkability and food access that are associated with moving into traditional homeownership, but they experience increased neighborhood socio-economic vulnerability. While understanding the net impact of these factors on individual and household health requires further study, these results can inform the siting and design of shared equity homeownership units to maximize the health benefits of the model.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Subsidy Overlaps in Federal Housing Policy

  Housing Policy Debate · 2024-05-22 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  There is limited and incomplete empirical evidence that documents the extent of overlap, or layering, between federal housing programs, including supply-side subsidies, such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), and demand-side rental assistance. Importantly, we know little about how the overlap varies by time, by geography, and in different housing market conditions. This project uses administrative data collected by federal agencies and public housing authorities to describe over time, at the national level, (a) the percentage of rental assistance recipients that reside in LIHTC units, (b) the percentage of LIHTC units that house a tenant who receives rental assistance, and (c) the number of LIHTC developments that include at least one recipient of rental assistance. Key findings are that there is significant overlap in programs and the level of overlap has increased meaningfully over time. From 2006 to 2018, the share of tenant-based rental assistance used in LIHTC units doubled. The article also highlights the changes that are needed to generate a more accurate national picture of the LIHTC program and overlap with other federal housing programs. These results will help inform debates about federal low-income housing policy and how these scarce housing supports are allocated.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Investment and crime on residential street segments: Assessing the moderating role of neighborhood characteristics

  Cities · 2024-10-24

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Book review: The Sanctuary City: Immigrant, Refugee, and Receiving Communities in Postindustrial Philadelphia

  Urban Studies · 2024-04-29

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Exploring the association between household compositional change and mobility of subsidized householders in the United States: A life course perspective

  Journal of Urban Affairs · 2024-07-29 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  This study examines the relationship between household compositional change and residential mobility of subsidized householders. Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Annual Longitudinal Files 2005-2018 is used to measure household compositional change and mobility for subsidized householders in the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Householders are 67% more likely to move when a change in household composition occurs. Members entering the household induce larger estimated mobility effects than members exiting the household. Although the odds that a householder move are associated with a household compositional change is greatest in the Housing Choice Voucher program for tenant-based vouchers, there is still a strong association with household compositional changes and mobility in Public Housing and for project-based voucher units where options for mobility are limited. The results have implications for future research on program design factors such as occupancy standards in subsidized housing in the United States.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Do Investment and Code Enforcement Mitigate the Criminogenic Effects of Commercial Places on City Streets?

  Urban Affairs Review · 2024-08-30 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Communities and their residents need access to commercial places that provide core goods and services (e.g., retail stores, banks, grocery stores, and restaurants). These place types, however, are often associated with higher levels of crime, though there is within-place type variability. This study explores whether investment in the form of building permits and public regulation in the form of code enforcement moderates the criminogenic effects of commercial places on city streets. Using data from a diverse set of U.S. cities, we estimate the relationship between commercial places and crime on street segments over time, and the extent to which building permits and code enforcement moderate the relationships. The findings indicate that commercial places are positively associated with crime on street segments, while building permits and code enforcement are negatively associated with crime. Moreover, building permits significantly temper the criminogenic effects of commercial places. The moderating effect of code enforcement on the relationship between commercial places and crime, however, is inconsistent across cities and crime types. We discuss the implications for community and economic development and public safety.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Susan M. Wächter

  30 shared

• Rebecca J. Walter

  University of Washington

  25 shared

• Annette M. Kim

  11 shared

• Jesse Bricker

  10 shared

• Raphael W. Bostic

  Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

  8 shared

• Richard K. Green

  University of Southern California

  8 shared

• Paul S. Calem

  8 shared

• Marie Skubak Tillyer

  The University of Texas at San Antonio

  8 shared

Labs

• UW College of Built EnvironmentsPI

Education

• Ph.D., Urban Planning and Development

  Sol Price School of Public Policy