Consensus erupts over trend toward renting

(Flickr photo by abrin523)

Beware the stampede of opinions about potential homebuyers.  Those views are trampling conventional wisdom by asserting that the American Dream is dead or dying.

Last week, momentum swelled around the idea that many folks are choosing to rent a home rather than buy one.  Such consumers fall into two groups: Those for whom it is their only option because of finances and those who lack enough confidence in real estate to risk a decline in the value of their property.

I don’t know that the herd of economists and analysts wiser than me is wrong, but the volume and consistency of reports about the decline of American Dream was remarkable.

(Most of the links below have appeared or will do so in my Weekly Roundup on Fridays, on the Service You Can Trust Facebook page, on Twitter or some combination.)

Just look at the drumbeat of evidence over the last couple of weeks — for example, what James Bullard, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis observed on Friday:

15 Queens properties head to city auction

Single-family home in Middle Village with minimum bid of $412,000

Three co-ops and 12 single family homes are to be offered at an estate auction conducted on March 14 by Queens Public Administrator Lois Rosenblatt.

Minimum (upset) prices, which are set by Rosenblatt at 25 percent below the appraised value, range from $79,000 for an apartment in Corona to $675,000 for a house in Long Island City.

The house was one of two properties withdrawn prior to the city’s previous auction, in December.  Also returning to the auction block is a house on 63rd Avenue in Middle Village.

Below are the properties to be offered next month: