Another developing housing crisis?

Well since I normally write an opinion blog, why would I need facts etc to make a point? Maybe this time I do.

And I am not the only person seeing this problem. See this example:

https://www.slate.com/human-interest/2018/03/suburban-housing-costs-are-stretching-families-to-the-brink.html

Or here is another example:

https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-where-incomes-cant-keep-up-with-housing-costs-2017-7

And these are just two scenarios. The actual information or data balances out a bit when the whole country is measured, but the reality is housing costs are rising faster than wages and simply put: this ain’t good.

It is worse in high growth areas such as:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2018/07/10/toyota-hq-employees-in-plano-face-highest-housing.html

Here is the published inflation rate and projected inflation rate:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/244983/projected-inflation-rate-in-the-united-states/

here are some articles about wages:    and compare what they say about how inflation looks in the above article

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/09/for-most-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/

https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/

Rent prices: http://www.in2013dollars.com/Rent-of-primary-residence/price-inflation

Since 2000 a quick look shows inflation in general has gone up a bit below 2% while rent specifically has gone up about 3%, while real wages have gone up well according to this next article they aren’t.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wages-arent-growing-when-adjusted-for-inflation-new-data-finds-2018-07-17

And the author specifically refers to real wages, which calculates some of the above into what a person is earning compared to what they were earning before. It is not an apple to apple comparison, but it takes into account the point I want to make.

Inflation is going up, yet costs like housing are rising higher than inflation and wages by themselves are going up, but not enough to counter inflation and with rents and in many cases actual home prices going up faster there is a gap developing between people being able to afford to put a roof over their head.

And in growth areas rent/housing costs are rising much faster than wage growth, much less real wage growth.

The wealth gap exacerbates this because if people have less savings or cannot save at all, then any downturn in an individual situation will increase the chance they will not be able to afford housing at all.

Does our wonderful government want us to take out hardship withdrawals from our retirement plans just to live? It seems this way.

It is not about just foreclosure rates anymore, rent pricing is becoming a problem. If you cannot afford a house, nor an apartment near where you work (and let’s say near is within 10-20 miles which is broad), then what is a person to do? 50-mile commutes are not unheard of, but now you have increased gas expenses, limited transportation options, being extremely far away from your child’s school if an emergency happens, lost time due to long commutes to manage and more issues. Or what? Have two jobs just to pay the rent? A second job should be for something special or to increase your savings. If a person is working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, what does that say about where we are headed as a society?

This is not the housing crisis of 2008. This is a developing fundamental crisis of life in our country. The Republican leadership keeps saying how bad socialism can be. Okay it is bad, but if you do not do more to keep open the door of opportunity; allow people to thrive; save; plan; go to college, afford healthcare; afford a place to live and be able to eat healthily, sooner or later people will get tired of being downtrodden and wham, socialism looks good to people.

As I have always said (and so have others) a strong middle class is the backbone to a strong country, yet our leadership fails the middle class more and more. The statistics bear this out, but that is just part of the picture. Talk to people, their stories show a much harsher reality than the statistics do. If you ask around enough, you will see how many people are negatively affected by the economy right now.

Growth rates show strong growth for corporations and the wealthy, but if the rest of the country does not see the same growth problems will arise. I once mentioned that as soon as the tax rate decreases doesn’t increase corporate profits year over year, they will come begging Congress for more and this will negatively affect you and I even more. I am giving this another year before this happens. Corporations do not run their businesses very well anymore and some are reliant on number management, not growth and real profits to survive.

The affordability of housing whether home ownership or renting is something that needs to be addressed because once that goes, the stability of society is in grave danger. And the numbers bear out a decline in affordability is happening now. One phrase mentioned in some of the articles and in general is living wages. It is fast becoming more than that if we cannot save and build for our futures. I do not know how exactly to label this crisis, yet we are on the precipice of one.