Source: Insider —
First-time homebuyers just can’t catch a break.
The massive government stimulus issued during the early stages of the pandemic combined with rock-bottom mortgage rates led to one of the most dramatic home-buying frenzies in US history. The buying boom pushed the nation’s home prices to historic highs and deepened its ongoing housing shortage and equality gap.
While Americans of all backgrounds are grappling with housing affordability, first-time home buyers — largely millennial and Gen Z buyers — have started giving up hope on ever owning a home.
A crux in the housing crisis is the fact that homebuilders have not constructed enough affordable houses for them to purchase. Meanwhile, there are fewer existing homes available for sale. According to data from the US Census Bureau, in November 2022, not a single newly-built home sold in the US was under $200,000. The stark indicator only illustrates that starter homes are vanishing from the US real-estate market.
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