Homebuying in 2018 is, not surprisingly, quite different from the buying market and economy of 1958. Yet, many of the current housing issues, including sprawl, affordability, poverty, and discrimination, are being tracked back to the housing boom of the 1950s.
Today's starter home market shrinks 17 percent annually, according to Realtor.com, in stark difference to the starter home market of the 1950s and '60s. “A much larger percentage of homes on the market were new, and [homes today] are much more expensive in relation to income than they were then,” housing economist at Harvard Michael Carliner tells Curbed. “We’re not really building starter homes now.” Indeed, many first-time homebuyers today are still sitting on the sidelines, unsure if they will ever be able to afford to enter the buying market.
Housing starts are on the rise today. Last year, 1.2 million homes were started across the country. But adjusted for both an increased population as well as the large drop seen during the recent Great Recession, these numbers appear anemic, the lowest number per capita in 60 years. And unlike the postwar building spree, fewer new homes can be considered affordable starter homes. Builders say the combination of land, labor, and material costs makes affordable homes impossible, and only more expensive models offer enough of a profit margin.
