This morning we are kicking off a brand New series The Money Watch housing guide Focused on helping you achieve the American dream senior business and Tech Correspondent Jolene Kent looks at why It is a challenging time in the housing Market right now for Erica Duval in Pennsylvania's Susana Township each time Her rent goes up it hits hard it's Definitely a disaster and it's hard to Budget um when everything is constantly Changing overall Americans have seen Their rent jump 26% since 2020 how does It feel when your rent goes Up uh impossible when I go to the Grocery store I'm making sure I pretty Much never buy a name brand median rent Has skyrocketed the fastest in Virginia Beach Washington DC and Baltimore in Austin San Diego and Jacksonville Renters saw the biggest drops likely due To an increase in new construction has The markets been absolutely nuts for Prospective home buyers like the anov Family prices have been prohibitively High up 29% since early 2020 a CBS News Poll showed that some Americans are not Confident they'll ever reach the American dream we were waiting for Prices to come down or interest rates to Come down and we made the decision it's It's time to buy even if it's at an Inflated cost in some areas home buyers Are facing shrink flation that's where
You pay the same or more money for Less Space in fact the median American Home Size is now 126 Square ft smaller than It was 5 years ago yet it costs nearly $124,000 more the fundamental problem Not enough homes to go around we built Fewer homes in the 2010s than in any Decade going all the way back to the 1960s and because we built so few homes We really didn't build for the new Families that would be forming that is Why we have this 4 million plus unit Housing shortage what are some of the Bright spots here well the good news is That mortgage rates are coming down We're anticipating that there will be More new listings and we're actually Starting to head in the right direction But Erica Duvall doesn't feel that just Yet do you feel like buying a home is Within Reach no definitely not and I'm Definitely nervous to make any sort of Commitment in this Economy now looking ahead the big day is On Wednesday the Federal Reserve is Likely to announce an interest rate cut Everyone's waiting for it and though The Benchmark interest rates and mortgage Rates are not directly Linked UP Mortgage rates are likely to continue That downward Trend we've been seeing That we've been in the 6% range for the Past two months down from the highs of The past above 8% last fall so some
Welcome news on the horizon hopefully Hopefully all right Jo Ling thank you so Much we'll look forward to Wednesday
