Home Ownership in the US May Continue to Decline
This article by Megan Hopkins illustrates an interesting trend that may continue for many years to come: less home ownership in the US and more apartment rentals. Here is the article below reposted at the Joseph Bernard Investment Real Estate Blog:
Research by the Bipartisan Policy Center forecasts that the next 10 years may bring as
many as 5 to 6 million new renter households. One reason is that the relatively low inventory of available houses may push and/or keep many potential homeowners into
the rental market.
Barry Zigas, director of Housing Policy for Consumer Federation of America, remarks, “There is clearly an unmet demand for homeownership among young households. Those households are running up against a number of constraints.”
Three more factors that will all play into the escalation in renter households in the coming years include: tighter credit, lower incomes, and larger required down payments. Zigas adds, “Families will likely have less wealth because the rising generation is starting with less wealth. If down payments are at any significant level, it will be a barrier to acquiring a home for longer than may have been the case in the past.”
Among the key groups that will be driving the demand for apartments and other rental housing are seniors looking to downsize, young adults moving out on their own yet not ready for homeownership, post-foreclosure homeowners, and the growing number of immigrants.
Digested From “Small Housing Inventory May Push Rental Demand for Years” Housing Wire (12/31/12) by Megan Hopkins
