Investment Learning

  • December 16, 2024

2025 housing outlook under Trump has a lot to do with seniors

Meredith Whitney Advisory Group CEO Meredith Whitney comes on Catalysts to talk about the challenges in housing inventory and home affordability as her firm estimates that 60% of US homes are owned by senior citizens aged 60 years and above. "You're going to see a big upgrade cycle with seniors aging in place. What that means for affordability is I think you're going to see new homeowners continue to struggle and stay renters for longer," Whitney — who was dubbed the "Oracle of Wall Street" for forecasting the 2007-2008 Great Financial Crisis — tells Seana Smith and Madison Mills. Whitney weighs in on what kind of housing conditions are expected to persist into the incoming second Trump administration, including the options that older homeowners and homebuyers may have. "Seniors have taken out more debt at a faster rate than any other age cohort. And now they they are they hold 44% of total home equity outstanding — that's up from 19% in 2004. So you see seniors really struggle," Whitney states. "So I think that having them be able to tap into their their equity is going to be something that the Trump administration really pushes for, and there's $35 trillion of equity and over half of that is tappable." Whitney has previously communicated the impact of a "silver tsunami" on the housing market to Yahoo Finance as aging Baby Boomers turning 65 years old look to downsize, potentially freeing up inventory. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

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