Sue Meservier
Meservier & Associates
The Maine Real Estate Network
34 Center Street
Auburn, ME 04210
office: 207-784-2525
email: agent@meservier.com
Posts Tagged ‘buckfield’
Maine Home Builders Diversify to Survive Slowdown
Doubling up – Real Estate Housing Market
I was just reviewing some information from “The State of the Nation’s Housing,” a report issued each year by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. It is an overview of the U.S. housing market including analyses of market forces, demographic drivers, rental housing, and challenges for the future.
Something in the report caught my eye: A contributing factor to lower household growth was a drop in household headship rates caused by “doubling up.” In other words, some people were forced into combining households to save money during difficult financial times, possibly due to loss of their home or by foreclosure. Household headship rates for all age groups have also fallen since 2005, especially among those under age 35.
Of course, what is going to happen to headship rates in the future remains uncertain. If economic conditions and the foreclosure crisis do not improve, rates may continue to fall. But given the improved affordability conditions, employed workers may soon form households and thus boost headship rates. In most cases, doubling up is only a temporary solution for people — they will eventually prefer to find their own places to live.
The good news, according to the Joint Center, is that the “echo-boom” generation — those born between 1986 and 2005 — will have a tremendous impact on starter homes over the next 15 years. The echo-boom generation, currently at 80.8 million, is even larger than the baby-boom generation. It is projected to grow to 92.9 million by 2025. Meanwhile, baby boomers will boost demand for senior housing.
For household formation to return to normal rates, improvement in the unemployment rate is critical. One study estimates that if unemployment rates fall by a little more than 2 percentage points by the end of 2012, household formation would increase by about 2 percentage points from current levels by 2012.* That would mean that by 2012, normal rates of household formation should come back — roughly around 1 to 1.5 million new households per year.
More good news? Meservier and Associates is prepared to assist both the boomers and the “echo boomers” with their searches for new homes!
*Gary Painter, “What Happens to Household Formation in a Recession?” (Washington, DC: Research Institute for Housing America, 2010).
Great News For Buckfield, Sumner, & Hartford Maine Home Buyers!
Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010. This is a huge win for homebuyers, and the National Association of Realtors worked closely with members of Congress to make it happen.
The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.
Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th. The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted. NAR will continue to work with Congress on the NFIP Reform bill.
For additional information on both the tax credit deadline and the NFIP, visit Realtor.org/Government_Affairs.
Stay informed!
Brought to you by the Realtors of Meservier & Associates of Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine
207-784-2525
P. S. – While you’re here, you can search the Maine MLS database for over 25,000+/- properties for sale. Happy House Hunting!
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