A Breadwinner, a Homemaker and a Laptop

As millennials slowly age into family life, they're faced with two daunting financial challenges: the rising cost of housing and the high cost of child care. One way to deal with these challenges is to use technology-enabled remote work so parents can live and work in cheaper small towns like their elders did generations ago.

Annual growth in home prices averaged 5.1 percent in October, which continues to outpace income growth, as tight inventories and a dearth of new construction put upward pressure on pricing. Even with some increase in construction of single-family housing, the median size of a new home continues to increase as well -- so prices are not falling as they might if new homes were more modest. Just as recent development of apartments has been driven by luxury rentals in walkable urban areas, it's possible that development of single-family homes could be driven by high-priced homes on "tear-down" lots in desirable areas and by luxury townhomes. With the construction labor market remaining tight, there's no sign of new affordable supply on the horizon.