Mastodawn

David Chartier Dec 16, 2024

The average age of homebuyers in the US is now 56

The median age of first-time buyers is 38 (up from 34 last year)

The share of first-time buyers dropped from 32 to 24%

The median home price is now $435,000, which is up THIRTY NINE PERCENT since 2020

This is so astoundingly fucked

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/04/homebuyer-average-age-rises-to-56-amid-rising-homeownership-costs.html

The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56—homes are 'wildly unaffordable' for young people, real estate expert says

With home prices up nearly 40% since 2020, buyers are now wealthier and older, making them more likely to outbid younger buyers with all-cash offers.

CNBC

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Nicole Parsons Dec 16, 2024

@chartier

1. The commodification of housing by private equity hedge funds. Blackrock. Blackstone.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-single-family-homes-and-put-them-up-for-rent.html

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/mar/15/in-shift-44-of-all-single-family-home-purchases-we/

https://slate.com/business/2021/06/blackrock-invitation-houses-investment-firms-real-estate.html

2. Money laundering using residential housing. Housing is a safety deposit box for the corrupt & criminal.
https://www.occrp.org/en/news/report-us-real-estate-is-no-1-destination-for-laundered-dirty-money

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-05/organized-crime-is-laundering-money-through-european-real-estate

https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/property/2024/08/25/blackrock-partners-with-saudi-arabia-to-develop-kingdoms-property-finance-market/

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/saudi-arabia-taps-blackrock-build-mortgage-backed-securities-market

https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/saudi-princes-11-8m-virginia-mansion-under-contract/

3. Price fixing of rents reduce capacity to save for a home
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/5/2244971/-FBI-raid-on-real-estate-company-linked-to-Harlan-Crow-s-RealPage-rental-price-fixing

Wall Street has purchased hundreds of thousands of single-family homes since the Great Recession. Here's what that means for rental prices

Corporations backed by private equity groups such as Blackstone and Pretium Partners bought tens of thousands of homes across the U.S. Sun Belt.

CNBC

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klausfiend has moved

@Npars01 @chartier FWIW the US has become arguably the best destination for money laundering due to a toxic combination of "pro-business" legislation and lax enforcement.

Casey Michel's excellent book "American Kleptocracy" takes a deep dive into the problem, and its startling geopolitical implications (remember Paul Manafort? case in point).