COVID-19 has changed, sometimes unpredictably, the landscape of almost every element of our society and economy. The housing market is no different. “In flux” is understating it. In March 2021, we did a broad survey of housing conditions. More recently, we have written several times about the challenges that the rental market has faced and continues to face. This post takes an in-depth look at another aspect of the market: homeownership.
What are the main findings? Homeowner rates had dropped in recent years (helped along by the Great Recession) but the popularity of owned housing surged in the pandemic, and this brought rapidly rising prices and some of the lowest supply levels on record. Demand and supply are starting to stabilize, but the market remains increasingly weighted towards serving the needs of higher-income households. Affordability is not in general an apparent problem for homeowners, but primarily because more and more homeowners fall into the higher-income ranges.
But these headlines need more refined lines…and charts…and maps. See all details in the slideshare below, or check out the PDF file Regional Snapshot: Homeownership 2021