The Down Fall of Real Estate: A Few Theories on What Happened
"What really caused the real estate meltdown? A lot of Republicans blame Bill Clinton,
because of the Real Estate Reinvestment Act, which they say made it too
easy for certain people to buy houses instead of continuing to live in
Mr. Potter's slums. Even Mayor Bloomberg of New York says the Feds did it. Others, like Jeff Rubin, blame the price of oil. Now Christopher Leinberger notes another cause in the New York Times:
the collapse of the car-dependent suburban fringe. It is due to a
dramatic demographic shift that is causing cities to boom while the
suburbs empty.
Many
Boomers are now empty nesters and approaching retirement. Generally
this means that they will downsize their housing in the near future.
Boomers want to live in a walkable urban downtown, a suburban town
center or a small town, according to a recent survey by the National
Association of Realtors.
The
Millennials are just now beginning to emerge from the nest — at least
those who can afford to live on their own. This coming-of-age cohort
also favors urban downtowns and suburban town centers — for lifestyle
reasons and the convenience of not having to own cars.
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, only 12% of future homebuyers want the suburban-fringe new house.
Everybody is selling and nobody is buying, so the prices keep going
down. It is perhaps simplistic to blame the whole thing on this, when
there was the small matter of the subprime industry and the price of
oil, but it is certainly a factor.
Source: www.treehugger.com/economics/what-caused-real-estate-meltdown-collapse-suburban-fringe.html
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