More collateral damage from the housing bust: workers are less apt to relocate for employment because they can’t afford to sell their homes in a down market — so they stay put. [Link]
The ability to relocate for employment, which helped the U.S. economy recover quickly after previous deep recessions, is the latest victim of the housing bust. About 12.5 percent of Americans moved in the year ended March 2009, the second-lowest on record, estimates Brookings Institution demographer William Frey, after a 60-year record low of 11.9 percent the previous year. Out-of-state moves, usually associated with job changes, have been at a record-low 1.6 percent for two years, he said.
Austin’s housing market hasn’t been hit as hard as other areas, but it’s harder for workers with homes in other states to sell their homes and relocate here, so there can be an impact on relocation business.
