In the Obama economy, this hardly comes as a surprise.

There is little room for doubt the American middle class is disappearing and the proof continues to mount. According to a National Association of Realtors survey, the portion of first-time homebuyers are at its lowest levels in nearly three decades. This marks a steady decline over the last three years.

The share of first-time homebuyers dropped to 32 percent, which is well below the long running average of nearly 40 percent. Bloomberg reports:

Rising home prices are holding back many young would-be buyers who can’t easily save for a down payment because of student-loan burdens and soaring apartment rents. The median amount of student debt for all buyers was $25,000, according to the survey. And the prices of the least-expensive previously owned homes — those most likely to be bought by first-time buyers — are rising faster than those of costlier residences.

“It’s just a lack of affordable homes, especially in the starter range,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said in a telephone interview. “At a time when housing wealth is growing, we have fewer people participating in this recovery, and that worsens wealth inequality in the U.S.”

According to the report, first-time homebuyers averaged 31 years of age and purchased a home costing roughly $170,000. Such homes are no longer attainable, at least in areas of the country with a favorable employment market.

While some might argue that there is plenty of America to explore and cities and towns in which young families could settle, it is not quite that simple. Jobs (the kind that offer the kinds of salaries needed to pay down debt and support a household) tend to cluster around metropolitan areas. Without a job, no one could support his or her family let alone afford to purchase a home, let alone be approved for a mortgage. It should also be noted that home prices are soaring even in cities and towns that were, not long ago, affordable.

It is a vicious cycle and one that, sadly, affirms Yun’s statement: this trend will only worsen the rich-poor gap in the country.

Welcome to Obama’s America.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/disappearing-middle-class-first-time-homebuyers-28-year-low