Tag Archives: Homebuying

Why are young adults failing to build housing wealth? A report explores the long-term economic consequences for millennials and the nation’s economic well-being.

If a recent analysis is accurate, seller’s days may be numbered. Markets in once-hot major cities have all showed signs of slowing down in recent months, but does it spell a nationwide trend?

Homebuyers in San Jose, California are enjoying the fastest closing times in the nation. Trailing behind San Jose, six other cities came in at 50 days or less. These markets are seeing multiple bidders, many of whom are pre-qualified and offer large down payments, on the first day of listing.

The average American renter can now purchase a home more expensive than the nation’s median home value, while keeping their monthly housing budget the same. This was true in 37 out of 50 markets analyzed. The current national median rent is $1,416 per month—just enough to handle the monthly costs of a property valued at $289,505, including property taxes, maintenance, and insurance payments.

Buying is more economical than renting a home in many markets across the United States, but how long will that be the case?

DS News has covered the issue of student loan debt and the negative impact on millennials’ economic mobility, but what if student loan debt could actually be beneficial in the long-run in making a homebuying decision?

On a national level, several economic conditions influence today’s market such as home price growth outpacing rent growth since 2012 (favoring the rent side of the equation) and interest rates returning to historic lows after reaching 4 percent of higher in 2013 and 2014.

Speaking at the 56th annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) on Monday, U.S. Department of Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin said she does not see the nation's growing problem of student loan debt leading to an economic meltdown – and student loan debt may not be affecting a borrower's ability to buy a home, depending on that borrower's financial situation.