What Drives Us
Herndon and Cox is a Minnesota-based housing and real estate consulting firm that partners with clients to identify and solve housing and real estate challenges. We operate at the nexus of policy, data-driven market analysis, and hands-on development experience. This provides an analysis grounded in the buildable, not just theoretically desirable. We're also building toward technology that turns complex real estate and housing data into insights that guide action, extending the capacity of our clients and communities to act purposefully.
The Team
We're a two-person partnership, and every engagement gets both of us, not a rotating cast of junior staff.
Spencer Cox, PhD, Managing Partner & Lead Housing Analyst, is an urban economist who translates market and economic data into strategic housing recommendations for public and private sector clients. Before founding Herndon and Cox, he led more than 15 Housing Needs Assessments and 20 real estate market studies at Stantec. Most recently, he served as a Senior Planner at the Metropolitan Council. He received a PhD in Geography from the University of Minnesota where he specialized in urban economics, and received a BA in Economics from Middlebury College.
Chris Herndon, Managing Partner & Lead Development Analyst, leads Herndon and Cox's development consulting practice, bringing more than a decade of experience in project management, risk management, and owner's representation. His combined background as a development consultant and a Senior Planner in regional housing policy gives him a practical view of how land use and zoning determine whether a project actually gets built.