The New York Times
article “In Housing, Big Is Back” by Jim Rendon provides insight on the housing
market and how it is doing in the economy. For years the housing market has
been in a recession and it looks as if we are coming out of it. The market for
homes, especially big ones has gone up 46.6 percent from the previous July.
According to chief economist Brad Hunter, “The housing market is being driven by the move-up
buyer, the luxury buyer.” People who have secure jobs and strong incomes
are purchasing larger houses than ever before. The median size of new homes
built has come to a new high of 2,384 square feet. This is great for the
economy and as jobs continue to increase, so will the market for housing. But for the smaller homes in the market
things are not moving as fast. First time buyers are having a hard time getting
money for down payments and qualifying for mortgages due to a large amount of
student loans and debt.
We may be seeing the problem for first time buyers increase in the near future. College prices increasing exponentially, and in a time where it is becoming easier and easier for kids to get in to college, student loans will continue to increase as well as student debt. More people will probably look to apartments and condos as their start to their family life.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that the demand increased specifically for large, expensive houses as opposed to smaller ones shows that the upper-class has recovered from the Great Recession while the lower and middle classes are still in recovery. While the jump in 46.6% is certainly not to be looked down upon, I feel as though an increase in demand for small and medium sized homes would be something to be more optimistic about.
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