The Bethlehem Project: The housing domino effect

The Bethlehem Project: The housing domino effect

From Swamp Notes by Financial Times

March 18, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

The episode explores the challenges of the US housing market and its impact on affordability and rentals, focusing on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The US housing market is in a crunch. It’s more unaffordable than ever before to buy a home, and the average age for first-time buyers across the country is now 40, according to the National Association of Realtors. Not only is that making it harder for people to own property, it’s also putting pressure on the rental market.  Host Sonja Hutson travels to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to get a better picture of how we got here, and how residents are dealing with the high cost of shelter. Mentioned in this podcast: ‘We need that help’: US cities struggle with housing affordability crisis The Bethlehem Project is hosted and produced by Sonja Hutson and edited by Marc Filippino. Fact checking by Henry Larson. The show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sonja Hutson, Marc Filippino

Topics covered

  • housing market
  • affordability crisis
  • real estate
  • rental market
  • economic pressure

Keywords

  • housing market
  • affordability
  • Bethlehem
  • real estate
  • first-time buyers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Association of Realtors, FT.com

Places: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

More episodes of Swamp Notes

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Swamp Notes podcast page.