According to the National Association of Realtors, the median age of home buyers was 56 in 2024, an all-time record high. And the percent of homebuyers who were first-time buyers was a record-low 24%. Link here:
For most home buyers, the purchase of real estate is one of the largest financial transactions they will make.
www.nar.realtor
So basically only people who can SELL a ridiculously-overpriced home can afford to BUY a ridiculously-overpriced home.
Because news reporting has been so degraded, we are all left to guess at what is driving this phenomenon. IMHO, plausible contributors include:
(1) Large companies that have been buying low-end homes en masse and turning them into rentals.
(2) The explosive growth in homes converted to short-term rentals (air-bnbs).
(3) In certain cities, a large number of rich Asians have bought homes (mostly condos) that they just hold vacant, to shelter their wealth from possible government confiscation.
One thing it doesn't seem to be is a failure of housing units to keep up with number of households, at least not as the official stats appear to this uneducated eye.
Housing Units:
Housing Inventory Estimate: Total Housing Units in the United States
Households:
Total Households