Tag: Housing Affordability
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Rich Buyer, Poor Buyer. When Mortgage Lenders Give Away Money, Who Gets It?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently declared that we’re getting past the “K-shaped economy.” In a K-shaped economy, lifestyles get better for those at the top, while others’ financial situations wilt. One segment of the population keeps climbing; the other keeps slipping. Pushing back at suggestions that the economy is returning to a balanced state,…
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Forty Trillion and Counting: Massive U.S. Debt Is Already Impacting Deed Holders
The U.S. government’s debt appears to have reached escape velocity. It’s now passed the $40 trillion mark. This year, we the taxpayers will pump $5.6 trillion in revenue into the Treasury. The federal government will spend about $7.4 trillion. For each dollar we send it, our government spends $1.33. Our lawmakers know this. The figures…
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The Future of Retirement: Mortgage Debt and Smaller Social Security Payments?
Social Security has been working for 91 years. Over these nine decades, the retirement experience has changed a lot. Today’s over-60 crowd is working longer and harder, for one thing. Largely gone are the days when housing expenses tapered off with age. Paid off your mortgage? Congrats! But insurance premiums along with taxes on a…
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Legoland Model for Building Real Homes? Looks Like It’s Here.
The American Housing Corporation is a new company. Its plan is to make and sell manufactured townhomes in popular U.S. cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, and New York. The idea is to supply mass-produced yet appealing row houses made of components that can be shipped in a flat form: stairs, floors and ceilings,…
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Home Buyers See Prices Rise Yet Again. Can a Federal Law Turn the Tide?
In case you missed it, the median price for existing homes hit another record this summer: $440,600. Home prices have pressed higher for three years running, says the National Association of REALTORS®. And they’ve risen in four out of five major housing markets in the second quarter of 2026. The latest increase is especially pronounced…
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Housing Affordability Matters in Every State—And Now There’s a Federal Template
This month, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law. It happened quietly, automatically, ten days after congressional approval, in the absence of a presidential veto. The massive new law includes: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is careful not to commandeer local zoning processes. Instead, it brings an array of incentives such…
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21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Signing Put on Hold.
Donald Trump just declined to sign the bill as scheduled. Trump said he would not sign the bill until Congress acted on the SAVE America Act. Speaker Mike Johnson says the bill will get Trump’s signature within 10 days. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt advertised today’s bill signing just this Tuesday. The abrupt…
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States Have Been on a Housing Affordability Roll. Can Cities Stop Standing in the Way?
Just a few months ago, we reported on state lawmakers stepping up for housing affordability and creating big, bold changes. If Congress is slow to act, at least the states can bring relief to the people. Optimism, and the winds of change, have gained strength. Texas even passed a law to stop small groups of…
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Young Voters Want Congress to Act on Housing Costs Now
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, about half the people who rent or live with family believe both of these statements are true: (a) I’d like to buy a home, but don’t have affordable options in my area. (b) U.S. housing is so expensive that I’ll likely never be able to hold the deed to…
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Growing Concerns About AI in the Home Buying Process
Artificial intelligence has found its way into everything. Buying a home is no exception—especially if a real estate brokerage or financing company is involved. Today’s buyers are used to AI being part of shopping for most anything. Most people expect it to be part of a real estate deal—bringing efficiency and precision into the process.…
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Zoning for Affordability in Minnesota: Is a Law Allowing More Units Doomed?
A new law to boost starter-home construction in Minnesota is “on life support” now, media reports say. Its backers are scrambling to save it as the lawmaking session concludes this month. Starter homes seem to be an endangered species. In the early 1980s, four in every ten new homes created were within the reach of…
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An App for That? Tech Promises to Help Young People Afford a Deed
Housing affordability continues to present barriers to first-time buyers. People who already have deeds find this market so much easier to navigate. Only one in five buyers is a newbie. Far too many younger people feel like permanent renters. Not surprisingly, property tech companies and app developers are showing up with solutions. And the National…
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Waiting for Home Prices to Drop? Don’t Count on It.
Some hopeful deed holders have waited a long time for property values to fall. Home prices remain high. Interest rates, too. It’s a time of war and simmering inflation. Generally, mortgage rates go up when inflation goes up—and when our federal treasury prints money. Which it’s doing now. As inflation rises, so do borrowing rates.…
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Facing a Troubled Economy—How Race and the Generations Intersect
The housing gap is getting more extreme as time goes on. Which means young people are having a harder time of it. Racial identity continues to be an overlapping factor.
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Deeds Reserved for Affordability: Incentives for Home Buyers to Live in Hawaii
Hawaii continues to grapple with its housing crisis. Hawaii’s Hale Kamaaina Mortgage Program is a state-based initiative to connect first-time home buyers with cut-rate mortgages. And this year, it made an extra $3,000 available to its first 35 buyers. Hale Kamaaina offers first-time Hawaii home purchasers: The funding comes from tax-exempt mortgage bonds. Hawaii administers…
