The New York Times:Stranded by the nationwide slump in housing and jobs, fewer Americans are moving, the Census Bureau said Wednesday.A good reason to rent until the financial crisis is over?
The bureau found that the number of people who changed residences declined to 35.2 million from March 2007 to March 2008, the lowest number since 1962, when the nation had 120 million fewer people.
Experts said the lack of mobility was of concern on two fronts. It suggests that Americans were unable or unwilling to follow any job opportunities that may have existed around the country, as they have in the past. And the lack of movement itself, they said, could have an impact on the economy, reducing the economic activity generated by moves.
Home ownership rates have risen, and owners are typically less likely to move than renters. Two-earner families have become more common, and finding employment for both spouses in a new location can be challenging. Americans’ median age has been climbing, and it is younger people who usually move most often.
“It does show that the U.S. population, often thought of as the most mobile in the developed world, seems to have been stopped dead in its tracks due a confluence of constraints posed by a tough economic spell,” said William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution.
Read more on the impact of home ownership on unemployment here.
1 comment:
A good reason to rent until the financial crisis is over?Of course not ... it you have the funds, this is the time to jump into either the housing or stock market, if the asset is solid.
The adage is buy low then sell high.
The herd is scared, but the only thing I know the herd to do is loose money. Now the trick is trying to figure out what the herd will desire in the future and about when they will want it, because the buying low part is easy, it's being offload for a profit that can be difficult.
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