In a wide-ranging interview on Fox Business Network’s Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo, Chairman of Equity LifeStyle International, Sam Zell, says he may not be young enough to see the final tapering of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus, despite most observers saying it will end in October, as housingwire.com tells MHProNews. He thinks the stock market is strong because investors do not see many other options for investing. He says the single-family market is “benign,” that home-buying for first-time homebuyers is down because young couples are deferring marriage until later, taking six or seven years out of prime home buying years. Adding that the “massive housing recovery” spoken of in the press and by analysts and trade association personnel is nothing more than a song, Zell states home prices are up due to a lack of supply because of the uncertainty of the market. If people are uncertain, they will be less likely to sell their house and move into another 30-year mortgage commitment. Zell’s Equity LifeStyle Properties has a controlling interest in over 370 manufactured home and recreational vehicle communities comprised of nearly 140,000 sites.
