New research from Trulia finds that an "economic convergence" of housing markets is not happening: the housing rich are getting richer, while the housing poor are getting poorer.
"The U.S. housing market is growing more unequal," according to an article by Ralph McLaughlin for Trulia.
McLaughlin summarizes the findings of the Trulia research shared in the post"
Over the past 30 years, prices in the 20 most expensive markets have risen much faster than prices in the 20 least expensive. What’s more, expensive markets almost always had bigger price gains compared to cheaper markets. In other words, the housing rich are getting richer while the housing poor are getting poorer.
The article includes specific data points to back up this narrative. One particular telling data point finds that the growth of San Francisco's home values has outpaced ten major U.S. cities combined (i.e., Rochester, Wichita, Fort Worth, Memphis, El Paso, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Tulsa, Greensboro-High Point, and Dayton). The article includes a lot of infographics and data to make a stark point a reality: "The financial fortune of homeowners in the U.S. has largely been determined by where they live, " and "regional disparities in home price growth may be effectively driving a geographical gap in wealth generation."
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