5 Reasons why affordable housing is becoming harder to find

Affordable housing has a different meaning today than it did just 10 years ago.

I want you to think back to the time when your parents bought their first home and now think about what price they paid for that house.  Would that house sell for exactly what they paid for it years ago or did the value of that property go WAY up?  The answer for most of you is that the value of that property has increased dramatically and I am sure many of you would LOVE to be able to re-buy your parents first home for what they paid for it back in the day because house values have consistently gone up over the years.

There are a lot of different contributing factors that have made affordable homes less available and here are some of the more popular reasons.

There are far fewer affordable homes being built today than in the past.  This is partially due to higher land cost.  Community and zoning restrictions in most areas require larger lot sizes for a new home and if the lots are larger, that means the land developer will have fewer lots to sell and that drives up the price of each individual lot.

There has also been an increase in labor cost to build a home.  Our country is in serious need for qualified tradesman especially when it comes to house and building contractors.  The average wage has gone up and the housing industry is understaffed in a big way.  The demand for contractors is high and the number of available contractors is nearing a record low.  

Higher building material costs have contributed to increases especially in the more affordable home price ranges.    Here's something that most people don't think about... most affordable homes that were built years ago were very basic compared to the houses being built today.  Back in the day the homes had flat 8 foot ceilings and today many of them have 9 and 10 foot ceilings with cathedral or vaulted designs to create a more spacious feeling.  Back in the day many of the kitchens were built using lower cost painted plywood and Formica counters and today many feature custom cabinets and solid surface counter tops.  Also, many of the homes built years ago were smaller homes by design and most were built very close to your next door neighbor similar to row houses.

What purchase price or monthly payment do you consider affordable?  Add a comment down below.

Do you have questions about real estate, call or text us at 740-397-7800.

Thanks,

Sam Miller of REMAX Stars Realty

710 South Main Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050

Call or text 740-397-7800 SamMillerSells.com