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What are the major barriers to
homeownership in the current housing
market?
Affordability is the number one challenge,
and it comes from a few different angles. Home
prices are outpacing income gains, and that puts
homeownership further out of reach for hopeful
buyers. Rents have essentially leveled off or
even dipped slightly, but they're at or close to
record highs, which makes it harder to set aside
money to save a down payment. ere is a bit of
a positive though, in that mortgage rates have
come down from the heights they reached late
last year, so once you get a home, your monthly
costs won't be as high.
Low inventory, especially at lower price
points, is keeping upward pressure on the hous-
ing market, too. Some of the most inventory-
deprived markets–like Seattle–have seen a
recent resurgence in the number of homes for
sale, which has slowed the frenetic pace of sales.
If this trend spreads across the country, buyers
will have more breathing room.
What is the most rewarding aspect of
your job?
e most rewarding aspect of my job
changes from day to day. I love working with
my team supporting their career development
and imagining what we together can be or do. I
like it when research we've done starts spread-
ing through the media and the community or
when someone I meet outside of work tells me
about something interesting that they've heard
or read, and it's the work we did. If we can take
a complicated topic, such as housing vouch-
ers and affordable housing supply, and break it
down into clear parts, policymakers can work
with that to inform changes. Sometimes they
do, and I can see it happen.
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PICK-ME-UP
"Home values are
still growing faster
than incomes, and
our research shows
that the median
household income
often isn't enough
to break into the
housing market."
