HUD Homeless Count Fails To Connect Dots On Supply and Displacement – Ed Pinto/RealClear Markets

“…the real estate market is like a giant game of musical chairs, and the game starts at the top with the most expensive homes and moves down the homeowner and renter chain. If there are too few chairs, those with less financial wherewithal end up without a chair…

“LA has a displacement rate 14 times Houston’s. There are two reasons Houston has been successful.  First, in spite of decades of rapid growth, home building has largely kept up with demand. As a result, the median house price in Houston remains below the national median, with home prices and rents being about 1/3 and 1/2 respectively of those in LA. Second, since 2012, Houston has implemented a regional response to homelessness known as  ‘The Way Home’, which is credited with housing over 28,000 individuals and families, with 90% still housed to this day, with an overall reduction in homelessness of 62% since 2011.”

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1 in 3 U.S. Homebuyers Are Paying All Cash, the Highest Share in Nearly a Decade – Redfin

“All-cash purchases are making up a bigger piece of the homebuying pie for two major reasons. Affluent Americans who can afford to pay cash are more apt to buy homes in such an expensive housing market, when the income necessary to buy a home is higher than ever before, and elevated mortgage rates make buying a home in cash and avoiding interest altogether more attractive.”

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