A recent article written in the latest issue of REALTOR Magazine by Lawrence Yun suggests Americans to move.
Lawrence Yun is the chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS. He says that the current unemployment rate in our country is at “3.5%, a 50-year low.” The “margin between job gains and job losses has been consistently positive over the past decade, which is the reason for the cumulative gain of 20 million net new jobs since the Great Recession. Certainly, this is great news!

However, Yun states that Americans are increasingly staying put in their housing arrangements. Only 9.8% of the population moves annually, compared to past times. Lawrence Yun writes “20% of Americans moved to a different home in any given year throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Why are Americans staying in their homes for longer periods of time? Dr. Yun speculates that it is harder for families to uproot from an area due to the fact that now more commonly, there are two income-generating household members. He encourages families to step outside of their familiar surroundings – seek more affordable areas in the United States. Nashville, and Austin were cited as example cities of affordable areas that have experienced growth. For up-and-coming cities that look promising for future growth, he suggests Charlotte, N.C., Charleston, S.C., Columbus, Ohio, or Las Vegas, Nevada.

Miscellaneous figures:
From December 2018 to December 2019, the inventory of homes has decreased, and the median sales price has increased.
The median age of home buyers is 47 years of age in 2019 compared to 31 years of age in 1981. The median age of repeat buyers is 55 years in 2019.

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