Category: Uncategorized

By Suzanne De Vita

More households in America are headed by renters now than at any other time in the last 50 years, with owner household formation toppled by renter household formation in the past 10, according to a recent analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. Owner households dialed back from 76.1 million in 2006 to 75 million in 2016, while renter households expanded from 34.6 million to 43.3 million.

Pew researchers attribute the recent growth in renter households to not only groups that conventionally rent, such as young adults, but also to groups that have historically owned, such as middle-aged adults. In fact, from 2006 to 2016, renter households headed by those aged 35 to 44 and 45 to 64 climbed 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Other groups are bucking tradition, as well. Renter households headed by whites, who have typically owned, rose 4 percent from 2006 to 2016. Renter households headed by college graduates, similarly, went up 7 percent over the same period.

The shifts, coupled with ongoing growth from groups that have had a long-held propensity for renting (e.g., black households, households headed by those without a high school degree), are contributing massively to the boom. The renter household explosion, in effect, is being fueled from all sides.

An adverse trend, however, has begun to take root. Earlier this year, the rate at which owner households were formed surpassed the rate at which renter households were formed, according to a Trulia report on Census data, pointing to the potential for a change of course. Other recent studies have highlighted the immense and immediate need for rentals, especially at attainable prices—another pressure point that could turn the tide back toward ownership.

Renters, most importantly, continue to see homeownership on their horizon. Eighty percent of those recently surveyed by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) believe owning a home is essential to achieving the American Dream; 63 percent of those recently surveyed by Zillow plan to become homeowners in the future.

Source: Pew Research Center

Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.

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From:: Real Estate News

By Suzanne De Vita

New-home sales improved in June, with sales of new, single-family homes eking up 0.8 percent to 610,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The average new-home sales price was $379,500, while the median was $310,800. New-home listing inventory was 272,000—5.4 months supply.

“Although we saw modest gains this month, new-home sales have risen nearly 11 percent since the start of 2017,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in an NAHB Now update. “Our members remain optimistic as the single-family housing market continues to recover.”

“We saw new-home sales edge up a slight 0.8 percent in June solely because last month’s figure was revised downward, but this still reflects a recent increase in new construction resulting in new-home sales up 9.1 percent over the past year,” says Joseph Kirchner, senior economist for realtor.com®. “While that’s not enough to ease the shortage, there is some good news when it comes to new-home prices. Median sales prices dropped to $310,800 from $324,300 in May, though that’s still 3.4 percent above the same time last year. Builders have been focusing on more expensive homes, but the increase in low- to moderately-priced new-homes on the market will help millennials, first-time and moderate- to low-income homebuyers.”

“Both of June’s numbers aren’t statistically significant, so we should take them with a grain of salt,” wrote Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Trulia, in a Trulia Trends blog. “A less volatile number to look at is the 12-month rolling total, which is up 14.1 percent year-over-year. This represents the most since June 2008—a nine-year high.”

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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From:: Real Estate News