Why the Housing Shortage?
Buyers are crying and realtors are pulling their hair out in this competitive housing market. There simply are not enough homes for sale to meet current demand. Why? Here are some of the major reasons.
The housing shortage has been brewing for a long time. After the 2007-2008 financial crisis, builders mostly stopped building. There was less demand and financing for these projects was harder to get. On top of this, builders have a hard time finding labor. Many left to find other jobs after the downturn and fewer people are now going into the trades.
The cost of lumber and building supplies has nearly tripled. Lumber companies shut down during the pandemic and when they came back, production was reduced as much as 50%. They underestimated the housing surge as well as the increased demand in remodeling. Trump era tariffs on Canadian lumber did not help.
It’s a tsunami of events where unprecedented demand has collided with this period of under production. Millennials are now at the home-buying age, COVID has changed job markets, investors are buying 20% of all homes in the US, and there has been an increase in vacation home buyers. Builders are making progress but it will take some time to catch up. The housing market will not be changing much in the foreseeable future. Whether buying or selling, contact me to put my 27 years of knowledge to work for you.
Donna Forest ~ donna@donnaforest.com ~ 603-731-5151