The 2010s Were a Terrible Decade for Housing Construction

Reason ^ | December 23, 2019 | Christian Britschgi

[CodeToad]

“the prices are unaffordable.”

Starter homes are still affordable. The problem is the younger generation wants to live in their parent’s status.

[Wuli]

“Starter homes are still affordable. The problem is the younger generation wants to live in their parent’s status.”

Not true, in terms of new construction. Most new construction is not “starter” homes, and the turn over of small older homes - which might be affordable, does not match the population increase of new high school and college graduates.

In the 1950s they built plenty of “starter homes”. I know, my parents bought such new homes, twice.

If back in the 1950s builders were mostly building what they mostly build today, my parents would not have been able to afford a new home. That level of building new affordable homes tapered off over the decades and has ceased. You can see it just in the trend of the average square foot size of new homes, which has increased by over 1,000 square feet in the last 42 years - from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,687 square feet recently.

[CodeToad]

I live in Denver. Lots of starter homes that have a monthly of around $1200. What kids want these days are the $450+ homes. They’ll pay $1,500 for a phone, $300 for blue jeans, $150,000 for a worthless college degree, but balk at saving $10,000 for a home unless it is a mansion.

[Wuli]

“I live in Denver. Lots of starter homes that have a monthly of around $1200. What kids want these days are the $450+ homes. They’ll pay $1,500 for a phone, $300 for blue jeans, $150,000 for a worthless college degree, but balk at saving $10,000 for a home unless it is a mansion.”

I don’t know what kids those are. The average age of a first time home buyer is not kids right out of high school or college, it’s about 36 years old; that is someone with 12 to 18 years work experience. Millennials are not buying or having kids; they are renting doubled up or living with mom and dad; maybe by the time they are in their thirties they might have saved enough to buy a place. By the time my parents were 36 they already had five kids and were in the first home they had bought; and they were lower middle class.