Home Prices Versus Family Incomes

Given rising interest rates, decelerating home price growth, and a steady but modest rise in the median income, National Association of Realtors research data specialist Michael Hyman examines how much of a person’s income now goes toward housing costs – and how that share has changed over the past 18 years.
As of the second quarter of 2018, family incomes have risen by 52% since 2000, according to the National Association of Realtors’ Family Income Index. Housing prices have risen by 95% over the same period, growing nearly twice as fast as incomes to almost double 2000 price levels.
In 2000, when interest rates were 7.90 percent, homeowners had to spend about 19.6 percent of their income to be able to afford a home… In the wake of the Great Recession in 2009-2010, mortgage rates started to fall, so the share of income that went to paying a mortgage declined.
Since that time rates have continued to decline, much to the benefit of potential homeowners… On a regional level, the West requires a higher portion of your income, which has eclipsed the 35 percent mark. The Midwest, being the most affordable region, requires the least percentage of median family incomes [at around 15%].

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

34 Trends That Will Define Home Design In 2020

Image
Kitchens 1. Three-tone kitchens.  Two-tone kitchen cabinets — meaning the upper cabinets are one color and the lower cabinets another color, or the perimeter cabinets are one color and the island is a different color — dominated kitchens in the past couple of years. So it’s only natural that designers are building on the trend rather than doing away with it. In a three-tone kitchen, one more color or material is introduced to create an asymmetry in the palette that helps define zones or functions and keeps the eye moving. Here, designer Janina Cabrera of  J Style at Home  designed a gorgeous kitchen with white perimeter cabinets, a light wood island base and a knockout powder-blue hutch. In this kitchen by  Hutker Architects , a deep navy defines the refrigerator and pantry wall to the left, joining white perimeter cabinets and a superlight wood island base. Wood via the beams, ceiling, shelves and flooring adds to the diverse three-tone palette. Designer
Read more

How to Help a Senior Loved One Downsize

By Michael Longsdon Downsizing is becoming an increasingly appealing option for older adults everywhere. According to Senior Lifestyle, 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 intend to move in the next five years. Among these, downsizers outnumber upsizers 3 to 1. It’s easy to see what makes downsizing so appealing. It allows seniors to simplify and streamline their life, getting rid of the things they don’t need so they can focus on the things that matter to them. However, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t an emotionally fraught and logistically complex undertaking. If you have a senior loved one who is planning to downsize, here are a few ways you can make the whole process easier on them. Visit Prospective Homes With Them House hunting can be overwhelming, so volunteer to tag along as your loved one looks for their new home. The purpose of this is twofold: it allows you to offer moral support but also to look for elements that make for a safe and appr
Read more

6 Must-Have Kitchen Design Features

Image
1. The Right Storage Your kitchen cabinets make up the bulk of what you see in your kitchen, so your  choice of cabinet color and style is a major, consequential decision. But the components inside your cabinets are equally important, if not more. Your storage solutions determine how functional your kitchen is. When you’re at the peak of cooking a large meal, you care less about the look of your cabinets and more about the ease of grabbing the right tools, spices, pots and other supplies. A kitchen designer will often take an inventory of all the utensils, dishes, small appliances and pantry items in your kitchen to figure out the right storage components for you. P ullouts, rollouts and swing-outs will efficiently organize your stuff and make things easier to find and grab. “When budget allows, we always, always recommend drawers  or pullout shelves  on the lower cabinet level,” designer Lisa Janzen of  KC Interior Design  says. “There is nothing worse than having to get on your hands
Read more