Has Stagnant Real Income Growth Contributed to An Uneven U.S. Housing Market Recovery Following the Great Recession?

The U.S. housing market recovery following the Great Recession has in many ways been atypical of earlier housing market recoveries. There is evidence that the recovery from 2011 through 2016 has disproportionately occurred among higher income earners, while improvement in the middle and moderate income sectors appears to have occurred later and to have been comparatively less robust. Stagnant growth in real median household income among moderate and middle income households and a weaker rate of new household formation during and immediately following the recession are seen as key variables contributing to an uneven housing market recovery