YellowFever
New member
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This is what's behind the severe housing drought
The supply of homes for sale is now at the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking inventory 18 years ago.
While all real estate is local, the problem is national. From coast to coast, buyers shopping in this spring market are finding less and less. What is listed is going fast ? and selling at a premium.
In Southern California, home sales in February were 14 percent lower than the average for the month going back 30 years, according to CoreLogic. There are plenty of potential buyers out shopping, but they simply can't afford what they find.
Housing starts are still only about 75 percent of their historical average, and what the builders are putting up is in the pricier, move-up category. The biggest problem is starter homes ? the severe lack of them. Builders say their costs for land, labor and materials are too high right now, and starter homes squeeze their margins.
YellowFever said:What about the rental market? Why is Irvine Company building so many thousands of rental apartments? Why not just build thousands of 1 bedroom attached condominiums to satisfy the poor? ;D We all know if you cram four attached units into a tiny real estate space, the city and builder can get more money's worth and property tax and mello roos.