Are Long Term Homeowners Staying in Their Homes Just To Spite Their Kids?

The baby boomer generation takes a certain amount of flak for not moving on and selling their current home that they've lived in for so many years, and the younger generations equally so for supposedly not being interested in buying.  Lowest mortage rates still do not seem to be incentive enough for bringing buyers off the shelf. There's a lot of labeling that goes on as people search for answers, and a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding.  The economics of the housing market is a compilation of factors over time, and doesn't amount to just any one thing, like being too selfish to sell, or too disinterested in buying. Tax issues, for example, are putting a squeeze on long term owners, known as the SALT cap, mixed with being faced with being forced to move up to higher prices in California, if they stay here. For these and other reasons, the fact is that owners are staying put about twice as long as the average stay about 15 years ago.
And, there's even a current projection now, that in spite of the long term squeeze on inventory, the future may bring so many houses on the market from the baby boomer generation that there may not be enough buyers from the later generations to take up the slack.

For sellers who do decide to sell, and find a less expensive market to move to, it's wise to be practical in pricing.  Still, home sales in California continue to show mild growth overall, since mortgage rates continue to be favorable for buyers.

If you are interested in finding your home's value, please contact me.  I have been helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals since 1994.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996