While the Biden Administration attempts to redefine and rebrand the looming recession, American families are suffering from Democrats’ HomeBuyer Price Hike, to the point that residents of San Diego are fleeing to Mexico in search of cheaper rent.
As discussed at a recent Ways and Means hearing on the Biden housing crisis, the median home price nationwide has skyrocketed by $100,000 and the average monthly mortgage payment has gone up $877 since President Biden took office.
Affording a home is now out of reach for many Americans, who are already falling behind due to Biden-Flation. Yet Senate Democrats are still working behind closed doors on a trillion-dollar tax hike plan that would make inflation worse.
Key Excerpts:
- “Americans, priced out of the housing market and frustrated with sky-high costs of health care, electricity and basic goods, are increasingly opting to rent or buy homes in Mexico.”
- “The rise in home prices pales in comparison to the jump in rents. In June, the rent for a one-bedroom home — $2,901, according to rent.com — was 19 percent higher than a year ago. Two-bedroom apartments were averaging $3,772. Nationally, the average for a two-bedroom is $2,047.”
Background:
President Biden’s Raging Inflation, Worker Shortage, and Supply Chain Crisis Are Worsening the Problem:
- Building More Homes Has Become a Struggle: One home-building company “couldn’t find enough land, workers were scarce, lumber prices were exploding, and the faltering supply chain turned the search for everything from dishwashers to garage doors into a kind of corporate scavenger hunt.” (NYT)
- Failure to Provide Greater Supply Is Raising Prices: “…[P]retty much everyone agrees that the country hasn’t been building nearly enough homes to keep up with demand, especially for middle and lower-income families. The failure to build those units is the single biggest contributor to the affordability crisis that in recent years has spread from a few coastal cities to a much larger swath of the country.” (NYT)
- With Bidenflation Raging, the Federal Reserve’s Actions Could Make Matters Worse: “Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said there was an irony to what’s happening right now: The Federal Reserve is trying to snuff out inflation by increasing interest rates, which is leading to a pullback in construction, which will make housing even less affordable down the road. In a sense, policymakers are solving the immediate cost-of-living crisis (inflation) by making the longer-run cost-of-living crisis (housing) even worse.” (NYT)
Few Americans Can Now Afford a Home in President Biden’s Economy:
- Housing Prices Are Skyrocketing: “The median sales price of an existing home climbed to $416,000 in June, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday, up 13.4 percent on the year and the highest since records began in 1999.” (WSJ)
- People Are Having Trouble Selling Their Homes: “At the same time, sales of previously owned homes fell for a fifth straight month, dropping 5.4 percent in June to an annualized rate of 5.12 million, the National Association of Realtors said. That was lower than the number of sales recorded in all of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic became widespread in the U.S.” (WSJ)
- Drop in Home Sales is a Clear Recession Signal: “Sales of new, single-family homes fell 16.6% from March to April, and new home sales were down 26.9% from April 2021, according to the latest government data. That decline in sales is a ‘clear recession warning,’ said Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders.” (S&P Global)
Housing was affordable after Republican Tax Reform. President Biden turned this around on a dime.
- After Republican tax reform, American workers’ wages were growing and housing affordability remained strong. The average home price was steady and the number of new housing units surged.
- President Biden’s policies are crushing the American dream for families who are facing a pay cut every month. Housing is now more unaffordable than it’s been in over a decade.