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It's really hard for a middle class family to buy a house along the California coast.Real estate research and marketplace site Zillow routinely calculates an index of housing affordability. First, they use a proprietary statistical model to estimate housing values in a metropolitan area. Then, they calculate the monthly mortgage payment for a median price house in each metro area. Finally, they calculate the percentage of the median monthly income for each metro area needed to pay that mortgage payment.For example, Zillow's estimate for the median home price in Abilene, TX during the first quarter of 2014 was $98,600. After...

A few days ago we finally closed the door on any argument who the marginal buyer in the US luxury housing segment was - the answer: Chinese oligarchs, scrambling to launder their "hot" domestic money abroad (as we predicted first two years ago) and now that Switzerland is no longer a safe offshore venue where one can park cash, they picked US luxury housing as the best money laundering alternative. This means that far from indicating a recovery, as the recent surge in the high end of the US housing segment had long been touted, all the relentless move...

Relocation Map Key As with all maps, you can zoom in and out, and click and drag the map for a different view. (For a larger version of this map click here. You can see a full list of all the communities in the left column.) NumbersUSA is daily updating this interactive map to show which communities are under threat of the federal government moving large numbers of illegal aliens there from the border.

One thing we know about Mayor de Blasio is that he’s serious about creating affordable, quality housing for all New Yorkers. “This is literally the largest and most ambitious affordable-housing program initiated by any city in this country in the history of the United States of America,” de Blasio declared when he announced his “five-borough, 10-year plan” in May. “It is the largest, fastest affordable-housing plan ever attempted at a local level,” he added, vowing to “change the face of this city forever.” Hear that kids? Your rent worries will soon ease. Great news! I wonder if the new promise...

As homeownership rates tumble, perhaps it is not just the stagnation of income or piling up of 'other debts' disabling any organic buying frenzy; perhaps, as Bloomberg breaks down, it is the realization that real-estate is nothing less than another boom-bust roller-coaster ride. ??When so much wealth is tied up in one asset, the risk -- or stability -- of a local market can mean a lot to a homeowner and Bloomberg has quantified the 'riskiest' (and most stable) home markets in America... not Vegas, not Phoenix, and not LA... Full Breakdown here And the stablest real estate markets?5. Raleigh, North...

“Bigger is better,” as the old adage goes. When it comes to a juicy steak, or a diamond ring, these words always hold true. When it comes to 3D printing, however, there still remains some debate. The 2nd World 3D Printing Technology Expo was held in Qingdao, Shandong, China this past week (June 19-22). It featured thousands of individuals from China, United States, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and almost a dozen other countries. They were there to discuss the latest breakthroughs in 3D Printing, including possible applications, material use, business models and more. Qingdao Unique Products Develop Co., Ltd,...

A month ago we showed a chart that, in our humble opinion, summarized all that is wrong with the US housing market. The chart in question showed the April breakdown of existing home sales on a Y/Y basis by pricing bucket.   Needless to say, what the chart showed was the symptomatic, and schizophrenic, breakdown of US housing into two camps: the housing market for the 1%, those costing $750K and above, where the bulk of transactions are mostly between non-first time buyers, and typically take place as all cash transactions, and the market for "everyone else" which continues to...

Blame it on the... spring?Moments ago, in addition to reporting CPI numbers which showed that the Fed has already met and surpassed its 2.0% inflation target (credible or not), the Dept of HUD released Housing starts and Permits data for the month of May. It was, in a word, disappointing. It was so disappointing in fact, that both housing starts and permits not only missed expectations, but tumbled from the previous month by the most since January and the great "Polar Vortex" which was the kitchen sink used to explain the collapse in US GDP in Q1. Perhaps it...

In one of the most agonizing disconnects of the Bay Area's surging economy, far more people want to buy a home than want to sell one, making this the tightest housing market in the nation. Would-be homebuyers are crowding into scarce open houses and battling for the few available, leading to rising prices, rapid sales -- many homes sell within a week -- and frustrated house hunters. "This is the most sustained period of low inventory I've seen in 20 to 24 years," said Chris Trapani, head of the Sereno Group in Silicon Valley.

A couple of recent reports will help put the bifurcated US home "recovery" in perspective. Priced Out First, please consider Many Seek New Homes Near Cities but are Priced Out The average price of a newly built home nationwide has reached $320,100 — a 20.5 percent jump since 2012 began. That puts a typical new home out of reach for two-thirds of Americans, according to government data. Yet many builders have made a calculated bet: Better to sell fewer new homes at higher prices than build more and charge less. Their calculation is partly a consequence of the growing...

Yes, neighbor, but what do YOU think? Among the many findings of a new Pew Research Center survey is this data about neighborhoods, and how Americans want them to look: more conservatives than liberals want to live in a place where most people share their political views. The survey found that, among the consistently conservative, 50% believe it’s important to live in a place where most think the way they do about politics. For consistent liberals, it’s 35%. Check out the Pew poll. The divide over neighborhoods doesn’t end there. Many more liberals than conservatives want communities where the houses...

As the housing market slowly recovers, a majority of homeowners and renters are finding it hard to meet rising rents and mortgage payments, new research finds. Over half of Americans (52%) have had to make at least one major sacrifice in order to cover their rent or mortgage over the last three years, according to the “How Housing Matters Survey,” which was commissioned by the nonprofit John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and carried out by Hart Research Associates. These sacrifices include getting a second job, deferring saving for retirement, cutting back on health care, running up credit card...

Black Knight's April Mortgage Monitor shows almost 2 million modifications face interest rate resets, and 40 percent of those resets are underwater. Email News Release "We have seen a continual reduction in the number of underwater borrowers at the national level for some time now, but modified loans show a different picture," said Kostya Gradushy, Black Knight's manager of Loan Data and Customer Analytics. "While the national negative equity rate as of April stands at 9.4 percent of active mortgages, the share of underwater modified loans facing interest rate resets is much higher -- over 40 percent. In addition, another...

Have you always wanted to try your hand at 3D-printing a building? Are you jealous of the Chinese architect who 3D-printed 10 houses in 24 hours? Well, you might be interested in buying the world's first commercial house 3D-printer for £9,800 (€12,000, $16,000). Slovenian firm BetAbram have designed a 3D printer capable of printing a house, and they plan to release it in August under the name BetAbram P3. This 3D printer can print buildings measuring 12 sq m, and so far, the company has only produced miniature houses and sculptures with the printer. BetAbram is also planning to release...

While houses of varying quality have been 3D-printed before, one contractor in Minnesota wants to build one such home by using a specially designed 3D printer that uses cement as a filament, without compromising on build quality or design, 3DPrint reports. Furthermore, the contractor’s aim isn’t to finish the house as fast as possible, but rather to 3D print it efficiently and securely. “A cheap house built in 24 hours is not my goal,” Andrey Rudenko said. “My current focus is building well-insulated small or medium-sized homes of a contemporary design, definitely onsite. As an experienced builder, I know that...

I wrote here and here about the Obama administration’s proposed rule on “affirmatively furthering fair housing” (AFFH), an attempt to dictate how we shall live. In essence, President Obama seeks to use the power of the national government to create communities of a certain kind, each having what the federal government deems an appropriate mix of economic, racial, and ethnic diversity. The proposed AFFH rule, issued last July, was expected to be finalized by the end of last year. But the year ended with no further action. 2014 was supposed to be the year Obama’s “year of action” — the...

Mamta BadkarMay 27, 2014 We just got March S&P Case-Shiller home prices that beat expectations. The numbers showed home prices were cooling, but they nevertheless reflected increases on month-over-month and year-over-year bases. However, Ian Shepherdson chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics says "this report makes no sense." This is because "every indicator" of the house market he watches is slowing or falling. "We don't know if the March problem is Easter seasonal adjustments or the long-standing issue of fully adjusting for changes in the proportion of foreclosure sales in the sample, but we think the real trend in existing home prices...

Billy Gasparino and Jenna Dillon-Gasparino were savvy enough to wait out the housing boom of a decade ago as renters. Not until 2010, well into the bust, did they buy a house in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the beach, for $810,000. Only four years later, the couple see new signs of excess in the housing market and have decided to go back to renting. They are close to a deal to sell their house – for $1.35 million, a cool 67 percent gain. “It just seems like the housing market came back so...

In the wake of reports that teachers are being dramatically priced out of the San Francisco area and that 45% of Manhattan homes are purchased in cash, sometimes you just have to wonder: Who can actually afford to buy a home? Mortgage website HSH.com analyzed median home prices and interest rates for common 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, as well as property taxes and insurance costs, to figure out how much money it would take to pay a home's mortgage principal, taxes, and insurance — and how much you would have to earn to afford it. You can check out its website...

For $37,000 you can live in what used to serve as a shipping container. Steve Harrigan reported today on a new out-of-the-box idea that could solve several problems at once. Florida-based New Generation Builders is taking old cargo shipping containers and retrofitting them into dwellings. To look at one, you might think of a mobile home, but the company’s owner, Steven Sawyer, resents the comparison. He notes that when a hurricane comes through, it levels mobile homes. But Sawyer says by using corrugated steel and concrete pilings to anchor down each side, his homes will be totally undamaged. …