Here’s a simpleminded question: why haven’t builders built homes, perhaps not single-family homes, that are affordable to those with ordinary incomes?
And there’s the used homes that come on the market. Must be that the sellers can find buyers at the “unaffordable” prices they seek.
The problem is just interest rates, but the prices themselves.
There is a two tier housing market...
(1) Those who already own their homes and can upgrade (or downgrade) to homes with all or mostly cash—so the higher interest rates are not a big deal.
(2) First time potential homebuyers currently renting.
Group 1 is doing reasonably well.
Group 2 is toast. Higher rents are crushing them. High home prices and today’s interest rates make homeownership very expensive at best. If they live in a high cost market homeownership of a somewhat decent house in a somewhat decent neighborhood with a somewhat decent public school system becomes almost impossible.
If you try to combine these apples and oranges together with statistics you get useless and confusing data.
Fixed it.
Fixed it again.