WSJ: Housing Getting Even Less Affordable
July 14, 2005, Wall Street Journal — After dropping almost steadily for three years, an important measure of housing affordability has reversed course, a development that could help put the brakes on prices in some of the nation’s hottest markets. The average initial mortgage payment for home buyers climbed to $2,338 in the first quarter…
July 14, 2005, Wall Street Journal — After dropping almost steadily for three years, an important measure of housing affordability has reversed course, a development that could help put the brakes on prices in some of the nation’s hottest markets. The average initial mortgage payment for home buyers climbed to $2,338 in the first quarter from $2,060 in the fourth quarter of 2004, according to the investment bank. That suggests many home buyers are likely to have an increasingly difficult time offsetting higher home prices by taking advantage of low interest rates and new mortgage products designed to lower their monthly payments. If this trend continues, some home buyers may have to stretch more or set their sights lower. Declining affordability also could help slow the torrid home-price appreciation in the nation’s hottest home markets. The decline in affordability in some markets is supported by other recent data. In 41 out of 325 metro areas nationwide, home prices were so high during the first quarter that someone earning the median income couldn’t afford a median-priced home based on traditional lending standards, according to an analysis prepared for The Wall Street Journal by consulting firm Economy.com.
Housing Gets Even Less Affordable [Wall Street Journal]
USE HOUSTON AS YOUR MODEL
Iceberg, you might study economics, but certainly not art. It’s the folly of all economists to ignore standards of aesthetics of society. You might say they are subject to change, but a brownstone has been appreciated for 150 years without any indication of that changing. You would knock them down, put up affordable housing and turn back the clock on NYC’s comeback. People would flock to the burbs or other cities with more foresight. Look what your conservative views have done to Houston. The city officials are repentant that they had imposed no restrictions on developers. It’s the ugliest city in the US.
I think iceberg is PRECISELY saying they’re NOT altruistic.
I think that ICeberg works for Bricolage. No other sane person would suggest that developer’s goals are are altruistic.
Interesting. New York is such a diverse area – we have some of nation’s richest, but also some of the poorest. What is the median income in NYC?