Millions of Potential First-Time Homebuyers Shut Out of Market, WSJ

New York, NY, June 8, 2017-Roughly three million potential first-time home buyers have been shut out of the housing market over the last decade, reports the Wall Street Journal in an article by Laura Kusisto entitled, Millions of Young People Shut Out of the Housing Market.

This fact suggests the market’s recovery of the past few years could have been stronger.

“Tight lending standards and acute shortages of affordable housing in many markets have reduced the pool of potential buyers, particularly among young people, reducing a key component of housing demand,” the article explains. “In all, the number of first-time U.S. home buyers averaged 1.5 million a year over the last decade, compared with the historical average of 1.8 million, according to a new study to be released Thursday by Genworth Mortgage Insurance that examines mortgage data from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs and other sources. The study looked at data going back to 1994 and defined first-time buyers as anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years."

In addition to these factors, many young people have been delaying buying homes due to tight credit, student loans and rising rents, which have made it difficult for homebuyers to save down payments and resulted in lackluster demand.