Missing middle housing developments can be more impactful in addressing housing affordability issues than previously thought.
Simply advocating for 'build more' without considering the complexity and various factors at play may not fully address housing supply constraints.
Increasing the construction of 'missing middle' housing units significantly could play a crucial role in normalizing the American housing market and addressing housing shortages.
About 30-40% of people don't believe increasing housing supply will lower prices or rents.
In cities with limited housing supply, population growth can lead to decreased housing availability, impacting affordability.
Cities that don't build enough housing can have negative impacts on low-income residents, forcing displacement and exacerbating housing affordability issues.
Cities with blocked growth experience a process of migration due to housing costs rising, impacting residents' average incomes.
Affordability in cities like Boston, NYC, and LA could have been maintained if they grew at rates similar to other cities like Oklahoma City or Salt Lake City.
Limited growth approval in certain cities contributes to housing deprivation and lack of affordability, not an overflow of demand.
The 2-part overview offers insights into the current state of the housing market for mid-February 2024, covering aspects like house prices, sales, inventory, mortgage rates, and rents.
New listings for existing homes were up 2.8% year-over-year in January 2024, showing a slight increase from the previous year's record low for January, potentially signaling an increase in overall inventory for the market.
It's important to note that December and January are typically the weakest months for new listings, and while new listings are expected to show year-over-year growth in 2024, March data will provide a clearer picture of their proximity to normal levels.
Mortgage affordability is affected by prevailing mortgage rates, which can impact transaction volume and buyer costs.
The measure of mortgage affordability must be used with caution as inflation and buyer behavior play significant roles in housing market dynamics.
The rental value of structures versus inflated land value over time can affect the dynamics of home prices and construction, highlighting the complexity of the housing market.
The closed sales in February were mostly for contracts signed when mortgage rates were lower than in the previous months. This signifies a trend of lower mortgage rates impacting sales.
Active inventory in February showed mixed trends with some areas experiencing significant year-over-year increases in inventory while others saw decreases compared to 2019.
New listings in February were up year-over-year, but still remained at historically low levels. Most areas reported lower new listings compared to January 2019.
The rise in home prices is mainly due to obstruction of urban housing rather than urban productivity.
High urban rents have increased nationally post-2008 due to federal lending policies lowering housing production everywhere.
Rising rents explain almost all of the increase in home prices, with excess rent accounting for a significant portion of residential real estate value.
The Hollywood industry's writers are facing uncertainty about future work, impacting their ability to invest in real estate.
The soaring real estate market prices in L.A. are making homeownership increasingly unattainable for writers and other entertainment professionals.
The writer strike, combined with other factors like interest rates and taxes, is contributing to a slowdown in real estate transactions across Los Angeles.
Rising rents are causing rising home prices in the US housing market, with a greater than 1:1 pace.
Density of housing is crucial in impacting housing prices, especially in cities like New York City, where dense neighborhoods are affected by supply shortages and migration trends.
The impact of COVID-19 on housing trends varies across cities, with some areas experiencing temporary relief in housing costs for dense neighborhoods while other cities like New York face complexities in supply conditions.
Rents have been increasing but are expected to flatten and possibly decline in 2024 due to a surge in new rental units hitting the market.
Vacancy rates are starting to increase, indicating an evolving rental market tied to new inventory.
Investors should be cautious as margins are expected to get tighter with declining rents, a tough borrowing environment, and tighter lending standards.
Australia's housing market has experienced a long boom driven by various factors like low interest rates, commodity exports, and immigration.
The affordability of Australian properties is a concern with high housing market values, low rental yields, and high household debt compared to income.
Rising interest rates, declining job market, and decreasing migration from mainland China could lead to a potential housing market slump in Australia.