As they're forced out of the costly single-family home market, middle-wage consumers are making a reluctant transition from houses to attached dwellings, says USC economist Gary Painter.
"You still see a strong desire for young families to buy homes," said Painter, an associate professor at USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate. "That is what people are looking for first."
While economics are forcing people to consider buying condominiums and town homes, their hearts remain in suburbia's single-family neighborhoods, Painter holds. "We are not anywhere near the tipping point where people are wanting to go to that type of (attached) product, but we are trending in that direction."