RECORD-LOW HOUSING INVENTORY IS 'FREAKING ME OUT'

The number of homes for sale in America has been falling steadily for the past year, but the situation is apparently getting much worse as our traditional spring demand heats up. The inventory is reaching historic lows. It's never declined faster than it did last month. It's freaking me out. I think the overall industry for the first time is seeing sales volume really limited by the inventory crunch. I believe the lack of inventory on a new dynamic in housing: It's a new landlord nation where everybody is renting out their basement. When somebody moves up they don't sell their old place, they rent it out to somebody else, and it's because they want to keep that 30-year mortgage for 30 years, and it's because they can easily find somebody on Airbnb who will take the place. Also related: CALIFORNIA’S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS Source: LA Times California’s housing affordability challenges remain daunting and continue to increase, according to a draft report from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Thirty-two percent of millennials between the ages of 20 and 26 say they owe between $10,000 and $50,000 in student loans. The average student loan balance was $10,205. The report found: Housing production over the last decade fell more than 100,000 new homes short of demand and continues to lag, leading to surging prices at all income levels. The state’s homeownership rates are at their lowest since the 1940s. One-third of the state’s renters spend more than half their income on housing costs. California has 12 percent of the nation’s population, but 22 percent of the country’s homeless population. The report includes a range of potential solutions, including streamlining local and state land-use and environmental rules and boosting funding for low-income housing.