Home on the Range
It turns out that the rent isn’t too damn high. It’s home prices that have gone through the roof. In a weird twist, rent levels and home prices have diverged across the country. “Home values increased in all of the 100 largest metros in the U.S., according to Zillow data. But in some of the richest cities—San Jose; Seattle; New York; Boston; Austin; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and Chicago—rent prices fell, many by double-digit percentages.” Why is this very unusual trend happening? Like so many other financial and social matters, it might be the economic divide. The pandemic hit certain groups hard, but was a boon for those at the top. The Atlantic: Why America’s Housing Market Has Never Been Weirder.
+ “Once a home is stationed on a lot, it is not always possible to move it; if it is possible, doing so can cost as much as ten thousand dollars. Most buyers aren’t eligible for fifteen- or thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages, so many of them finance their homes with high-interest “chattel loans,” made against personal property. ‘The vulnerability of these residents is part of the business model,’ Sullivan said. ‘This is a captive class of tenant.'” The New Yorker: What Happens When Investment Firms Acquire Trailer Parks.