Cheryl Bourland's blog

The decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (referred to as "Brexit") rocked the world just last week, leaving a great deal of uncertainty in financial markets. However, many experts predicted that this news could actually benefit the U.S. housing market in the short and medium term. With the immediate effects of Brexit in the books, the move has had the expected results of rapidly decreasing interest rates, making homes more affordable for millions of Americans!

If you are able to read this, you've probably heard a great deal in the last few days about "Brexit", the unprecedented vote by the citizens of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union. While the short term effects on the British, and indeed the world, economy have been severely negative, there are potential silver linings to be found in the form of boosts to the U.S. real estate market. Keep reading to learn why several housing experts are predicting American gains thanks to British uncertainty.

As home prices continue to rise throughout most of the country, increasing numbers of Americans are choosing to rent, rather than buy, their dwelling. At the same time, rising rents and a lack of low-income rental units have created a perfect storm whereby more and more people are finding themselves devoting larger and larger portions of their paycheck to housing costs. As a result, a record-setting 21.3 million Americans spent more than 30% of their income on rent in 2014, while a staggering 11 million spent more than half. Financial experts generally consider a healthy budget as having up to 30% of income dedicated to housing, meaning that those spending more than 30% are labeled "cost-burdened".