Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-17 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Kent Colton, the Washington-based trade group's chief executive, said the ownership rate among adults 25 to 35 has dropped from about 60 percent in the early 1980s to about 50 percent. But Colton, who was in Roanoke Thursday for a meeting of the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association, said that trend does not necessarily spell hard times for the industry.
Many adults are simply putting off buying homes until they can afford them, just as many are waiting later than their parents and grandparents did to get married and have children, he said.
Despite this trend, Colton said most researchers predict "solid housing-start growth for the rest of this decade and into the next century." The home-builders association expects annual housing starts of 1.3 million to 1.5 million over the next few years. He said housing starts should total about 1.3 million in 1995, despite rising interest rates early this winter.
The builders group also is fighting to rewrite laws that it contends add thousands of dollars to the price of a new house. These include local zoning regulations and federal requirements aimed at protecting workers from death or injury. Colton argued that some of these laws go too far and require too much paperwork.
Colton said the growing number of elderly Americans will continue its allegiance to ownership of homes. He said some observers wrongly predicted that large numbers of seniors would sell their homes and rent instead.
by CNB