Bidenomics has hit another ugly milestone.
In 2021, for the first time ever (per Census data analyzed by Zillow), the annual dollar growth in the value of a typical home was bigger than the inflation-adjusted median pre-tax income of a full-time American worker.
The average home grew in value by nearly $53,000; the median worker earned around $50,000.
That’s right: The typical homeowner earned more by doing nothing than the median worker earned by, well, working. Overall, US homeowners with mortgages gained an eye-popping $3.2 trillion in equity.
And the trends are even worse: Zillow clocked the increase at almost 20% year on year. The median listing price rose to an all-time high in February as inventory levels were down to less than half of what they were pre-pandemic.
It’s not the homeowners’ fault, obviously, except insofar as they support politicians who make it harder to build new housing.
Meanwhile, renters are getting hit hard by inflation. Rents are up about 16% nationwide since January 2021, with hikes above 25% in some areas.
Of course, inflation slams everyone with few assets; it’s already hit a four-decade high (meaning most wage workers lost ground this past year despite nominal pay hikes) and headed up more as the Federal Reserve flinches from the interest-rate hikes needed to throttle it. Fuel oil rose almost 44% for the 12 months ending in February; gasoline, nearly 40%; meat and eggs, 13%.
And Vladimir Putin’s war is killing Ukraine’s huge wheat production, guaranteeing more soaring food prices.
All of which is going to make it that much harder to save enough to buy a home.
One obvious solution is to make it easier to build, period. Get rid of cumbersome regulations that constrain builders in many metro areas. Cull rules that prevent housing from getting more dense in less urban zones.
Oh, and while we’re at it: Reverse President Joe Biden’s inflationary policies, including his war on US energy production.
Otherwise, ordinary Americans won’t have to worry about paying to heat their homes — because they won’t be able to afford homes at all.
*story by The New York Post
