Data released by the US Census Bureau suggested the Coronavirus pandemic has two clear impacts on Americans: 1) mortality rate exceeds birth rate during 2020- 2021 and 2) people moved out from the more dense areas to the less dense ones.
The first impact of mortality rate should be no surprise given the US leads the world in both Covid-19 case and death. The Census Bureau’s data shows 73% of America’s 3,143 counties experienced “natural decrease” (i.e. when more people died than were born) in 2021.
The increased mortality, instead of improve the social security trust fund solvency, hurt it due to less contributions caused by unemployment and stagnated economic growth. The Social Security trustee report has moved up the projected insolvency date from 2035 to 2034.
The second impact may suggest why the housing prices soared 17% this past year. People were looking to get away from the pandemic and to get more personal spaces, especially when they can work remote. To wit, “Nearly three in five homes were snapped up within two weeks, an all-time high, and half sold for over the asking price.”
The frenzied house purchases invariably created unintended consequences other than the price war. Notably is the buyer’s remorse, especially for those first-time home buyers who hastily rushed into their decisions. Will the house prices cool down with Fed’s interest rate hike? Let’s wait and see.
Do you agree with the insights? Other observations?
Running with Buddha 