NewsPour 1.4.24
Real Estate News Headlines
Forever Renters Rise in Housing
Housing Slowdown in Charts
Upzoning for High-Density Housing
Forever Renters Rise in Housing
Many who would traditionally be homeowners have become long-term renters, including some with no plans to ever buy a home. Sustained high interest rates in the U.S. have made mortgages unpalatable to many. There also has been a dearth of inventory of homes for sale and there are more rentals available with luxuries that make life seem easy. Some prefer renting a high-end housing lifestyle versus owning a more modest house. Real-estate investor GID, which owns and manages about 50,000 apartment units across 30 markets in the U.S., says nearly a quarter of its residents earn over $200,000. The number of renter households with incomes of more than $1 million reached a record high of 4,453 in 2022, according to census data compiled by the IPUMS. About 64% of people in the U.S. are homeowners compared with about 89% of people in China and 72% in Brazil, according to a Euromonitor analysis.
News story commentary on: YouTube video here.
News story on YouTube video here.
Upzoning for High-Density Housing
Cities across the country are enacting “upzoning” measures as a way to try to meet housing demand and curtail soaring housing costs. Metropolitan areas including Dallas, Boston, Northern Virginia, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., are considering or have already changed zoning regulations to allow more density. Housing experts caution that the impact of zoning changes on affordability remains to be determined. Critics say upzoning can backfire and put more housing out of reach by spurring developers to raze the most affordable single-family homes and build pricier high-end, multiunit dwellings. However reducing land costs through smaller lots can offer a straightforward solution to increase housing units. This can help minimize gentrification, when it is broad-based rather than concentrated in specific underserved areas that are usually where displacement happens.
News story commentary on YouTube video here.