KCHBA Executive Vice President Will Ruder was a guest on Pete Mundo’s Mundo in the Morning on KCMO talk radio 95.7 and 710 AM.
“Housing is THE topic in the United States. This is the first time in my adult life that I ever heard the two candidates from both major parties running for president talking about housing as part of their platform,” said Ruder. “I think housing and affordability were of the big themes in last Tuesday’s elections.
“We don’t have the housing market we have today because of one decision made yesterday,” said Ruder. “It is the aggregate of decisions made over decades. But we have to start improving them now.
“If younger generations have no pathway to economic prosperity through homeownership, then they become despondent and make different choices than they would have otherwise,” said Ruder. “We don’t see homeowners bailing on their communities. Homeowners are joining the rotary club. They’re volunteering at their church. They investment in their community because a homeowner is an equity stakeholder in that community.
“If they don’t have an entry point to get into that process – just look at the most recent data that was released by the National Association of Realtors last week – the average age of the first time homebuyer in the United States today is 40 years old….If I’m 24 years old and I’m seeing that stat, that puts me in panic mode or makes me say ‘forget it.’ Homeownership is not for me. That’s a really dangerous place to be,” said Ruder.
Click here to listen to a recording to learn more about the housing market in Kansas City and how we can make it easier for younger generations to buy a home.
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