Here is a look at the most artificial real estate market in the history of the United States.
McMansions Days Are Over, But Smaller Homes Not Cheap
June 10 (King World News) – Gerald Celente: Remember the days back in the late 90s and early 2000s when Baby Boomers were moving into big homes, many mass-produced? Those days are over. Now, with income levels declining, those who can afford a home are going small. But small is still expensive.
Back in the 1950s, starter homes—cheap, no-frills houses usually no bigger than 1,400 square feet and affordable by young families—made up 92 percent of new construction.
In 2023, the same category of homes accounted for just 9 percent of new houses. A year later, the median price of a so-called starter home was $287,000, 44 percent more than in 2020, data service Cotality reported.
As a result, the annual income needed to qualify for a mortgage for one of the homes shot up from $49,008 in 2020 to $101,376 just four years later, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
That means it can take people more than twice as long to save enough for a down payment. The average age of first-time home buyers is now 38, a decade older than it was in 2015, NAR figures show.
In past decades, the size and cost of homes bloated as Americans flooded into the suburbs and the middle class became financially comfortable. People wanted more room not only for ease but also to demonstrate their economic status.
As a result, developers built larger homes and the number of small starter units ebbed.
As the costs of construction have increased, mortgage interest rates have climbed, and the median selling price of existing homes has topped $400,000, builders have begun to focus on those smaller homes once again.
Home sizes have been shrinking but the price not so much.
In Colorado Springs, for example, the size of new homes shrank by 14 percent in this year’s first quarter, while the selling price came down only half as much, by 7 percent, Realtor.com noted.
TREND FORECAST:
The notion of a “starter home” has become antiquated.
Most middle-class households that can afford to buy a home will be challenged to continue to afford the one they have. The idea of steadily rising from a starter house to a bigger one to a showplace no longer applies.
Barring a drastic and unforeseeable event, home ownership as a foundation of the American Dream will continue to slip away and to become a privilege of the lucky and the wealthy.
JUST RELEASED! Shocking Silver Price Predictions
To hear the jaw-dropping silver price predictions that Nomi Prins just made CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
JUST RELEASED!
To listen to Alasdair Macleod discuss the breakout in the silver market and much more CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
© 2025 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the articles is permitted and encouraged.
