What We Learned from Podcasts This Week: Will Homes Ever Be Affordable Again?

When podcasts began circa 2005, the bulk of this new medium contained informational shows. True-crime and yuk-yuk shows had not yet infiltrated podcasting. Therefore, most of the shows provided new listeners with information. It could be technology via This Week In Tech (TWIT), movie reviews via Filmspotting, science and philosophy via Radiolab, or history via Hardcore History. 

In short, we learn a lot from podcasts. As I always maintain, independent podcasts serve listeners the best with informational shows. Network-supported shows pad their rosters with true-crime shows, celebrities who overshare, and people who try too hard to be funny. 

This week, we found informational gems on Explain It to Me

The April 6th episode of Explain It to Me, titled "Is a house still a good investment?" delved into a topic of much discussion these days: Can young people afford to buy a home anymore?

Host Jonquilyn Hill first interviewed James Rodriguez, a senior real estate reporter for Business Insider.

Sadly, Rodriguez had only bleak news for listeners. Home prices have jumped 50 percent since the start of the pandemic, and home affordability is at an all-time low. Rodriguez links the shortage of house inventory to the near depression of 2008-2009. Back then, more than 1.5 million workers fled the home construction industry because of its collapse. As of today, the industry is still 500,000 workers short of pre-2008 levels.

Rodriguez also said that Millennials born in the late 80s who own a home saw their wealth grow by 57 percent from 2019 to 2022, largely due to the price of the home.

On the flip side, host Hill then interviewed Dr. Jeremy Porter, an expert in Research, Analytics, and Science Communication. Dr. Porter talked about events and trends that will drive down the price of homes. Dr. Porter, a climate expert, reports that climate change via extreme weather events is driving up home and flood insurance costs, and in some cases, making homeowners insurance unavailable unless the state steps in with a government-run program, as in Florida.

Climate change, extreme weather, and a homeowner's and flood insurance crisis will eventually drive down the price of homes, especially in areas where climate change is already having a significant impact, such as Miami, California, and even Texas.

In the final segment of the episode, the host Jonquilyn Hill then welcomed Mandi Woodruff-Santos, the host of the Brown Ambition podcast. Brown Ambition helps listeners unapologetically build wealth by saving, investing, and making smart career choices. The podcast adds: "On your own d@mn terms."

Woodruff-Santos delves into whether buying a house is still a good investment. Are homes still the only way for the middle class to build generational wealth? Woodruff-Santos also recommends that prospective buyers wait to find the home they really want that meets their present and future needs. She sees too many buyers desperate to get into a home, and buy anything.

Real estate trend data suggests that as Baby Boomers die and their homes go up for sale, the market will ease up and become more affordable. Yet, that's a 2030s trend. 

Various factors impact the housing crisis, which affects not only home buying but also renting an affordable apartment. For example, 42.7 million Americans currently hold student loan debt, owing over $1.6 trillion. This represents about 12.5% of the US population and 16% of adult Americans. The level of student loan debt directly impacts mortgage affordability. 

Moreover, NIMBY (Not In My Background) attitudes and restrictive zoning in many communities have limited home construction. While mortgage rates are currently high (not historically so), rates are also historically variable. Home construction costs have boomeranged in the last ten years, and U.S. tariffs, especially on Canada for lumber, could have devastating consequences for housing affordability. 

Podcasting can help with home buying. There's the How to Buy a Home podcast with David Sidoni or the Smart Homebuying Podcast.