For solutions to the housing affordability crisis, we need to use every tool available

"Across the country, roughly 65% of households are priced out of the median-priced new home. Incomes have not kept pace with elevated home prices and higher mortgage rates, putting homeownership further out of reach for millions of Americans. For those who can afford a new home, many don't want to spend 40% of their income on housing, and are likely waiting for rates and prices to drop."

"Many prospective buyers are waiting longer and longer until their finances are more secure; the average age of a new homebuyer is over 40 years old. For younger and lower-income buyers, the challenge is even greater. They are entering a market defined by historically high interest rates and a limited supply of affordable homes."

"One of the biggest drivers of the affordability problem is the lack of lower-cost housing options. Today, roughly 97% of newly built single-family homes in the United States are traditional stick-built homes. Alternative forms of housing, such as manufactured, modular, and kit-built homes, remain significantly underutilized, difficult to permit, and often stigmatized as inferior."

"The stigma is ironic, considering that manufactured and kit-built homes have historically been a bedrock of affordable construction since the first half of the 20th century. In fact, some of the most sought-after homes in valuable housing markets today began as kit-built properties. San Francisco's iconic Craftsman bungalows, for example, were originally ordered through catalogs and assembled on site."

About 65% of households cannot afford the median-priced new home. Incomes have not kept pace with elevated home prices and higher mortgage rates, pushing homeownership out of reach for millions. Many buyers who can afford a new home avoid spending around 40% of income on housing and wait for rates and prices to fall. Prospective buyers are waiting longer, with the average new homebuyer over age 40. Younger and lower-income buyers face even greater barriers in a market with historically high interest rates and limited affordable supply. Entry-level options that previously helped build wealth are less available. Lower-cost housing options are scarce because about 97% of newly built single-family homes are traditional stick-built, while manufactured, modular, and kit-built homes are underutilized, harder to permit, and stigmatized despite their historical role in affordable construction.

Read at www.housingwire.com