Why So Many Americans Can’t Buy a First Home, or Trade up to a Bigger One

http://time.com/money/4265750/homeowners-trade-bigger-houses/

Around the country, many Americans would love to make a move in terms of their housing situation. Specifically, they want to buy their first homes, or trade up from their starter homes to nicer, bigger digs, just like countless homeowners before them.

But people are finding it impossible to proceed in either case, and the reasons why have a lot to do with the housing supply–and yet home builders are not entirely to blame.

A new report from real estate tracker Trulia suggests that a widening price gap between mid-level and high-end homes is shutting out many buyers who would like to trade up. There’s also a smaller supply of starter homes because they’re owned by either investors or underwater homeowners who are effectively unable to sell. This gridlock, rather than slowing construction, is the real culprit behind the housing shortage, the report argues.

Trulia divides homes into three tiers: starter, with a median national price of $154,156; trade-up, with a median price of $267,845; and premium, with a median price of $542,805. (Of course, the median price for each level varies greatly across metro areas.)

more at link

How about lack of income ? Student debt that cannot be disposed of in bankruptcy court ?