Q: I have been having a hard time finding a place to buy and my younger sister has been trying unsuccessfully to find an apartment. Why is there such a shortage of housing and what can be done about it? Crystal, Hoboken, NJ A: There is a housing shortage both for homes to buy as well as rentals particularly in major cities where demand for housing is typically higher. Despite this huge housing shortage there are lots of vacant, unused or underutilized lots in major cities. For example, NYC has over 75,000 vacant or underdeveloped lots. This problem stems in part from the skewed property tax system we have in the US that disincentivizes development and encourages land speculation. A […]
continue reading Q: Do you think it makes sense to buy a modular home? Fay, East Brunswick, NJ A: A manufactured or modular home is a factory built home. A manufactured home is only meant to be moved once and is therefore different from a mobile home. Manufactured homes tend to be well built. Manufactured homes take less time to build and are much less expensive to build than a site built home. The potential drawback of modular homes is that the cost to finance the purchase of modular homes may be higher and it can be difficult to find suitable land to put modular homes on. Given the current shortage of available housing, modular or manufactured homes are one of the […]
continue reading Q: Gerald, you’ve said many times that home prices keep rising because housing inventory is so low. How many more homes do we need to meet current housing demand? Ezra, Old Tappan, NJ A: Median existing US home prices are up a mind-blowing 19% due in large measure to housing shortages. In a recent NAR (National Association of Realtors) study, the housing shortage we face now is about 5.5 million housing units! There are about 140 million total housing units in the US so 5.5 million is a sizable shortage. The study shows that the shortages exist in all categories of residential housing. The 5.5 million unit housing deficit includes a 2 million shortage of single family homes, a 1 […]
continue reading Q: Gerald, we are in the market for a home but it seems like every home we’re interested in goes under contract before we can even make an appointment to see it. Is this just my imagination or is there a real housing shortage? What can be done about it? Olivia, Hazlet, NJ A: Housing inventory in the US is at a 20 year low. There is no one cause – there are several causes. The main cause being that builders just aren’t building enough inventory. Other factors include: 1) high land prices 2) archaic and stifling zoning ordinances in some places 3) tight lending environment, particularly for 1st time home buyers 4) lenders reluctant to lend on condo purchases […]
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