WHERE HOUSING IS HEADED

[...]there are many unique aspects of housing that lie behind those familiar concepts. Since new housing takes time to plan, develop and build, surges in demand, like what we saw in late 2020 through 2021, are reflected mostly in prices. Since housing is expensive, it is usually financed with borrow...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMontana business quarterly Vol. 59; no. 4; pp. 18 - 20
Main Author Barkey, Patrick M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Missoula Bureau of Business and Economic Research 01.12.2021
Subjects
Affordable housing
Building codes
Business forecasts
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Economic conditions
Housing
Housing prices
Interest rates
Mortgage rates
Neighborhoods
Pandemics
Recessions
Trends
Montana
United States > US
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Summary:[...]there are many unique aspects of housing that lie behind those familiar concepts. Since new housing takes time to plan, develop and build, surges in demand, like what we saw in late 2020 through 2021, are reflected mostly in prices. Since housing is expensive, it is usually financed with borrowed money, making interest rates a critical factor for demand. No one predicted this outcome, yet in hindsight it is easy to see some of the forces that combined to bring it about: * The quick adaptation of the real estate industry to social distancing, using video showings and e-closings that effectively widened the market to a national pool of potential buyers. * The quick transformation of what had been a slower affordability migration from higher priced states to places like Montana to an accelerated surge as physical space needs and crime concerns changed attitudes about density in major cities. * The reluctance of sellers to list their homes, either out of fear of contagion or concern that the supply of housing to serve their changed needs would be inadequate. * The decline of offices and the rising incidence of working from home and its impact on space needs. [...]research says that many of the local policies that restrict housing supply, such as single-family home zoning, parking space requirements and building codes mandating things like windows in bedrooms are quite popular.
ISSN:0026-9921