I absolutely could have written a book on the number of contributing factors that you mentioned Lou Ludwig. The state of the economy is indubitably always going to be a very important factor.  

The obvious gets as little redundant doesn't it.

Kimo Jarrett a lot of good points here. It is amazing to see the housing market as healthy as it is in a wobbly economy. I think that there are a lot of regulations that impede developers meeting the supply the market is demanding. You live in California, I'm sure you're aware of how difficult it is to build.  

Thank you so much Ron and Alexandra Seigel. I could have written more but didn't want to publish another giant report just yet.

I'm not a fan of the expensive fixes either. They don't work. The legislation I mentioned is at least not one of those and actually streamlines some FHA policies, forces housing agencies to audit their assistance programs better, and impacts rural lending as well through the USDA. So hopefully that helps.

If you want to know more about that particular legislation I wrote on it recently here:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4919199/h-r--3700-s--3083-passes-congress--on-to-the-president  

M.C. Dwyer hopefully the legislation I mentioned at the end would help with the FHA approval process! You definitely work in a very competitive market that could use some help in that area.

I would be honored if you chose to reblog this post! You have my full permission and gratitude. 

Thank you Diana Dahlberg. I definitely put the work in, no point doing a bad job on a complicated topic!

I appreciate your thoughtful comment! 

Thank you Jan! Glad to see new multi-family construction of any type near you. California needs some of that. 

Thank you for the compliments to my writing Beth Atalay. And agreed, I don't see this trend reversing in the more competitive markets. Hopefully it's still cyclical or reversible elsewhere. Our tax code so heavily favors homeownership that we will have some problems with wealth creation if we look like more like Europe (oftentimes a society of renters). There are a lot of politicians that complain about inequality without any understanding of the role homeownership can play.  

John Dotson I respect your input and am thankful that you stopped to comment, but that really is a false representation of the legislation I have cited. I am well-versed on the CRA and the impacts it had. Nothing about this is similar. There will be no lowering of lending standards. The eased restrictions I am referencing are to the percentage of condominium units in a development that must be owner-occupied to qualify for FHA mortage insurance. This essentially allows more people that meet all other lending standards access a property because the property is eligible for insurance.

The debate over whether the FHA should exist or be involved in housing in this manner is of course entirely different. But the reason that H.R. 3700 was passed with enormous bipartisan support is that it essentially removed a series of hurdles that made programs more costly than necessary and made development more difficult. If you would like a brief summary of the new law I have attached a link below:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4926208/update--h-r--3700--s--3083-signed-into-law

I have also attached a link to a more thorough article I published before the bill became law:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4919199/h-r--3700-s--3083-passes-congress--on-to-the-president

That is a fair point Tammy Lankford, although national economic trends will still impact you out there. Maybe not today, but the good or bad works its way out eventually!

Janis Borgueta the demand is absolutely outpacing the supply. Great points.

Joe Pryor we will defintely see a bounce when the debt-laden Millenials finally start buying in higher numbers. Then, it is up to the next generation (currently aged 0-17) to see if they can figure it all out!

Tim Maitski absolutely, let me see if I can find that for you!

Tim Maitski thank you for catching that. Not sure if they switched a link or I missed something, but either way that's on me to keep an eye on!

I have attached a link with a lot of cool historical data; homeownership, vacancy rates, etc. Click "Table 14" for what you were specifically looking for and you will get a useful Excel sheet. Thanks again and hope this is helpful!

http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtabs.html

Jessie Cochran politics certainly don't seem to suggest that we will have any great progress made on the issue in the near future. If you look hard enough you will see impingements to development at the federal level all the way down to municipal.

Thank you so much Kathleen Daniels. It is a complicated issue and I simply tried to bring a good deal of information to people's attention. Everyone here thinks about these issues every day and I'm just doing my part!

Thank you Michael Layton. I 100% understand what you're saying. Southern California is a mess with pent-up demand. I see the phenomenon you're talking about all the time. I think that in the densest populated states we won't see many affordable single family homes until more condos and apartments are built to space the market back out.  

Thank you for the kind words Mike Bjork. It really is a complicated issue with uncomfortable solutions and realities. Debt is a real problem. Lending standards are there for a reason. You're correct in a focus on the Millenials. Soon the next generation will be crowding the housing market and the Millenials won't have moved out of the way yet. Frankly, it is time to build if we want results.   

Praful Thakkar that is typically true, but renting is hitting that point where we should see an increase in homeownership. But the rent prices have interfered with saving for a down payment. 

Linda Metallo DiBenardo great points. With the nature of the market today, renting feels safer.