Archinect - News

On the disappearance of American starter homes

2022-09-26T15:38:00-04:00

The disappearance of such affordable homes is central to the American housing crisis. The nation has a deepening shortage of housing. But, more specifically, there isn’t enough of this housing: small, no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity. [...] At the root is the math problem of putting — or keeping — a low-cost home on increasingly pricey land.

America has a long history of gradually siphoning away architecture made for predominantly middle-class people (think pre-war buildings in Manhattan or Levittown tract housing on Long Island) and is now simply under-delivering what could otherwise be an equalizing force as a result of prevailing factors like intimidating zoning regulations, prohibitive materials costs, and nationwide lack of available new land.

Related on Archinect: Why is America obsessed with huge homes?

Changes in demand also meant the 2010s were curtains for the possibility of building a home at less than $100,000. Today’s market has gravitated towards so-called "missing middle" construction as historical notions of family composition themselves come into question. This means the future of housing might look closer to Adam Neumann's Flow vision or BIG's Nabr initiative than it does to the archetypal American suburb of the 1950s.

As the Times reports, its cause can also be attributed to the overburdening of bui...

June's NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI shows builder pessimism at an all-time high

2022-06-21T08:30:00-04:00

A new poll conducted by the National Association of Home Builders shows builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes is at its lowest level after six straight months of decline. The poll measures builder perceptions of current and future single-family home sales, and the traffic of prospective buyers. All three categories posted declines in the latest monthly data with buyer traffic falling most sharply, a sign that homebuyers — especially first-time ones — are giving up.

The now-familiar cocktail of increasingly higher interest rates and home prices is once again causing headaches for contractors looking to fill America’s shortage of 4 million homes. The NAHB has been pushing the Biden Administration to take action on the supply-side of the problem since last year, and now says that a 19% increase in the average cost of construction materials will require even further measures be taken in the form of jobs training, tariff rollbacks, and a ban on Russian timber in the hopes of combatting the nationwide problem.

The group's new poll indicates an atmosphere of waned confidence in an industry beset by labor shortages and a string of business failures for the past two years. All three categories of measure reported percentage point decreases of 1 (sales conditions), 2 (expectations), and 5, a record for buyer traffic, which has fallen belo...

Timber prices and other factors are exacerbating America's housing shortage

2021-05-21T08:56:00-04:00

Buyer Demand is outstripping the availability of homes as many ponder a solution to the newest driver in the housing crisis.

A Commerce Department report detailing the continued decline in the market for single-family dwellings again in April, a product of overall increase in demand and lack of availabilities driving lags in the residential construction last seen at the end of the 90s.

Various barometers of the shortage are cropping up in different areas adjacent to the housing market. Labor shortages in the lumber and construction industries are combining with sharp increases in material prices, putting record numbers of homes under construction in the US on hold. Declines in speculative builders and the sale of pre-owned homes have been factors as well, forcing buyers into a crowded market where inflated costs have added an average of $36,000 in expenses to each new development.

Last year’s boom has put the most strain on the industry, a product of low interest rates and a variet...

UK abolishes stamp duty for all first-time homebuyers under £300,000

2017-11-22T14:38:00-05:00

The government will abolish stamp duty for all first-time homebuyers on homes under £300,000 in a move that will save home purchasers up to £5,000, but the government's spending watchdog warned it could push up house prices.

Philip Hammond, the conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced stamp duty changes in the 2017 Budget that would abolish the tax for all first-time buyers on homes under £300,000. The move is seen as an effort by the ruling Conservative party to win over younger voters, many of whom are struggling to get on the property ladder.

The treasury expects the change to amount to an average tax cut of £1,600 for a million first-time buyers over the next five years. However, according to analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the cut will lead, in the medium and long term, to house prices rising well beyond the costs of the initial savings. While intended to help those enter the housing market, the watchdog's analysis found that existing homeowners will be the ones to come out as the big winners.

Looking to buy a home in SF? Good luck

2015-03-23T18:39:00-04:00

Everyone knows the supply of new homes in the Bay Area is falling far short of job and population growth, but the number of existing homes being put up for sale is also near record lows in many areas. [...] “The move-up market is pretty much frozen,” said Matt Fuller, an agent with Zephyr. “Even if you can do great on the sale of your property, you are terrified to enter the market as a buyer.” [...] Inventory is also shrinking because post-foreclosure sales have dried up.