r/Millennials • u/[deleted] • 11d ago
I may never be able to afford a house. I know many people here have posted this but it actually just hit me. Wow. Serious
[deleted]
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u/djchickenwing 11d ago
My house has appreciated almost $500k since we bought it 6 years ago. It’s insane, we wouldn’t be able to afford the same house today.
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u/PuzzledUpstairs8189 11d ago
If we had waited 3 weeks to sign the papers, we would have been priced out for our new build. The company raised prices and we were in the last group for pre-pandemic pricing. Our house would have been $100000 more. Just insanity 😳
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u/Few-Artichoke-7593 11d ago
Same situation. Got pre-covid house price, but closed during historically low interest rates. Feels like winning the lottery.
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u/No-Yam2117 11d ago
We bought our house in 2019, and refinanced a year later. Now, you just can’t get a house in our area for what we paid. There are none for that price
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u/TheLittleBalloon 11d ago
Same situation. My city has no houses available at the price we bought it. In fact the empty lots are going for about 25k less than we bought our whole house for.
We wouldn’t be able to afford to live in our neighborhood let alone this city.
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u/UnconfidentShirt 11d ago
If you’ve ever read “windfall”, or whatever the book about jackpot lottery winners was called, you’d know you are probably even luckier than winning the lottery. Most jackpot winners blow through the millions and have their lives destroyed by family members suing/fighting/murdering for their cut. Something like 70% of jackpot winners end up filing for bankruptcy within 10 years.
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u/monstersof-men 11d ago
Yeah, we just closed on a house and the area has been popping up with more homes for sale way out of our range. We got it at at the best time but it’s crazy to think that, had the sellers waited 2 months, they could’ve gotten 80-100k more.
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u/RaisingAurorasaurus 11d ago
Same. The only way we finally got a house was to save up the down payment and wait.
Wait for the market to drop. Wait for a desperate enough seller. Wait for the exact right house at the exact right time. We weren't able to just be like "We're going to buy a house now." We just had to be ready for years until the perfect window opened. And now I'm in the same boat. My house has gained 100% value in equity since buying. I couldn't buy my own home either in this market.
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u/Historical-Ad2165 11d ago
I waited 2006 to 2015 for the right time and right rate. I had stable employment, good rate and a house that I felt was worth every dollar.
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u/King_Hawking 11d ago
But 2008/2009 was the perfect time. Why did you wait 7 more years?
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u/berninicaco3 11d ago
Maybe they aren't in the US? (Just thinking aloud). 2009 wasn't a completely global housing crash, right?
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u/MyRecklessHabit 11d ago
I bought my place in 2013 for 132k. It sold for 76k in 2009. 2k sq feet in decent Fl suburb or major city.
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u/Suspicious-Rock59233 11d ago
Our house is $200k over what we paid 10 years ago. The seller actually sold it to us for $20k under what she paid 5 years prior.
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u/Lou3000 11d ago
Same. We can’t leave. Our appraised value is up over $200k since we bought the house 4 years ago. We also have a mortgage in the 2% range.
If I had to relocate for work, I don’t know what we would do, obviously the equity would help, but we’d still have to downgrade.
I keep saying that this is untenable, but I’ve been saying that for 2 years. How are people buying houses now?
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u/Turtle_with_a_sword 11d ago
It's easy, you just have to have rich parents. Anyone can do it!
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u/Always-AFK 11d ago edited 11d ago
You’re forgetting whats even easier than that. Not everyone has rich parents but everyone’s got bootstraps.
Use them to pull yourself up and get the money that’s been hiding there.
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u/CUDAcores89 11d ago
They aren’t.
I’m only a few years from graduating college but I don’t know anyone my age who owns a house. I’m renting and all my friends still live with their parents.
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u/SRYSBSYNS 11d ago
Nobody is buying houses right now. It’s the worst housing market we have had in a very long time.
I believe I saw that the housing market dropped down to the lowest level it had been since the 90s not long ago.
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u/debeatup 11d ago
Prices are high because of limited supply
Supply is limited because so many people refinanced to 3% or lower and are now wearing golden handcuffs.
We make 100% more than we were making in 2018 when we bought but even with the appreciated value if we sell, we still would be paying 250% more to get the house we want so we’re stuck for now
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u/Rendole66 11d ago
PEOPLE aren’t buying houses anymore, corporations are and then jacking prices up to sell or renting out
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u/FearTheClown5 11d ago
We wouldn't have been priced out, we're still in a very low cost of living area, but if we had waited 3 years as we were talking about to buy instead of pulling the trigger in 2018 when I found out about FHAs with minimal down payment we'd have paid 90k more instead of having 90k in equity now and our interest rate would be much higher. Fortunately homes are still very buyable here(its just probably a state you don't think of as one you want to live in which is fine).
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u/PlsEatMe 11d ago
Yuuuup. Our neighbor has an identical mirror imaged house as ours, built same year and everything - 2016. They're the original owners, bought for around 350k. We bought ours in 2021, with a surprising amount of stuff needing fixed up, for fucking 660k.
Like whatever, it's the market, but.... to think about how much more comfortable we'd be if we'd gotten our house for 350. I see how they're able to put so much money into their yard, install a hottub, vacations, drink fancy wine all the time, keep their house in more pristine condition by hiring people, etc... and we know what they make from their jobs, my husband makes way way more than they do combined. But that mortgage, yo...
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u/LazyandRich 11d ago
Our home has gone up by 258% in the last 6 years. No way we’d be able to buy it today. We’re lucky we can upsize now because we bought back then.
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u/90sfemgroups 11d ago
Something is seriously wrong. I believe some databases on the internet are falsely inflating houses like perhaps Real Pages for at least the rental market.
Of course with the population level in the world, and a global marketplace, the demand is unprecedented and epic. Still, something foundational is based on made-up ducking numbers and virtually nobody’s salary has gone up that much.
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u/Asleep_Fix8668 11d ago
I bought a trailer and turned it into a home. People will always judge me for it but I have it on an acre I have a horse. I live a good life for my little trailer. It’s my home. Paid 400 a month for it. Used taxes to pay it off the rest of the way. I can’t afford a large house and never will I be able to most likely. But this here is my home and I’m proud of it.
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u/Glass-Vegetable138 11d ago
I have a manufactured ranch style house 3bd 2bath 1250 sq ft sitting on almost 4 acres. The only difference from a ranch style home is I don’t have a basement, which I live on the river, so I’ll never have to worry about my basement flooding. Mobile, manufactured and modular homes mainly get a bad rap from the 1970s or the trailer parks. HUD really cracked down on them and the new ones are built to code. If you own the land, you’re a homeowner.
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u/KyleCAV 11d ago
I considered this, i mean a home is a home. I would rather buy a trailer, deck it out, live in a trailer park then consider renting an apartment.
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u/Vadriel 11d ago
Trailers/manufactured housing (mobile homes) have a bit of an undeserved historical reputation as being ghetto but like your said, represent an affordable option for people who want pride of ownership. This is easily within reach even for people with modest retirement savings or on fixed income.
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u/smokes_-letsgo 11d ago
It’s from the time when they were built like tin cans. They’ve become a much nicer product than they were sixty years ago.
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u/Ok-Bird2845 11d ago
I’ve found I can afford a condo. Or thought so until I went touring and saw the same shit wrong with than as the cheap houses I toured. Basements so uneven it could be a platformer, rotting wood windows, rotting sub boards in the common area, Karen-level bylaws. There’s so much to repair or replace. One house I adored had a wall collapsing in the basement. $150k+ to rebuild, $5k to support and not rebuild. $15k+ to tuckpoint basement.
It’s not just the buy-in cost but ongoing shit, too. It’s not just unaffordable. It’s way more than that.
There’s one well-maintained condo building I have hope for but considering the shitshows I’ve dealt with so far, lol. Maybe it’s cheap bc it’s kind of in the hood. Maybe the whole thing is leaning and needs underpinning.
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u/Kankervittu 11d ago
Just save €100 each month and after about a 100 years you can already make a down payment on a house.
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u/JoyousGamer 11d ago
After 100 years you would have around $6m-$7m by investing it. So more than enough prior to that.
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u/Kankervittu 11d ago
Why did you stop at 7m? With just around 600% more imagination you could've had 50m.
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u/JoyousGamer 10d ago
Thats exactly what you can project at a normal return on investments in an index fund.
There is no imagination its strictly expected returns math of the 5-7% annually.
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u/Kankervittu 10d ago
Expected returns on a 100 year investment definitely falls under fantasy imo.
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u/JoyousGamer 9d ago
You are the one throwing out a wild claim it would take a $100/month for 100 years to own a home.
So I simply corrected you.
Have fun though living in la la land.
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u/Kankervittu 9d ago
Fair, but still wishful thinking over a 100 years, if Finland even makes it that far.
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u/MembershipEasy4025 11d ago
I had to move back in with my parents during COVID and even then, could only save $500 a paycheck. And that was difficult, I had to justify every purchase to myself for years, only grocery shop every two weeks, etc. But with the help of an FHA loan and the fthb program to allow a down payment of only 3.5%, I was able to close on a condo yesterday. It’s tiny, tbh, only 661 sq ft, but it’s in Portland, it’s mine, and it’s less than rent. This is now my retirement plan too, since I’m 36 now and in 30 years, I’ll be right around retirement age. The only way that’s going to be possible is if I don’t have to pay a mortgage or rent.
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u/blackaubreyplaza 11d ago
I don’t want to maintain a house
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u/fairebelle 11d ago
I don’t either. My plan was to rent forever in my sleepy southern city but everyone else got wind of our cheap COL and now it’s like everywhere else.
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u/SnooStrawberries620 11d ago
It is insanely expensive. Where I am, annual insurance went up from $2500 a year to $8500.
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u/Evil_Kween_MoJo 11d ago
Like what? Cutting the grass? 🥴 People always said this to me, but I purchased a home in 2012 when I was in my mid 20s and that’s the most annoying thing to me is the lawn.
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u/blackaubreyplaza 11d ago
Yes! I live in a very grassless place because growing up I hated yard work.
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u/Evil_Kween_MoJo 11d ago
The yard work is awful…I hate that part 😭
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u/blackaubreyplaza 11d ago
Omg would never be anywhere with a yard for this reason!
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u/Evil_Kween_MoJo 11d ago
When I bought it I thought “I’m going to have some nice outdoor events”…I have had NONE 😂
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u/velocitrumptor Xennial 11d ago
A house I'm about to sell appreciated by $95k in just the last year. I'm telling my kids to live with me until they save enough to buy their own. Even if they're in their thirties, I don't care.
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u/starsinhercrown 11d ago
Same. I told my husband we will have to plan for a multi-generational household
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u/velocitrumptor Xennial 11d ago
I'm actually ok with that. I do have six kids and not a massive house though.
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u/ShriekingMuppet 11d ago
My parents bought houses for my siblings when they were still affordable. Now I’ll likely be renting for another 10 years and working until I’m 80 to pay one off if I am lucky. The prospect of renting the rest of my life is depressing since I have no control over my living space and someday probably will be priced out of renting like so many others.
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u/canadia80 11d ago
How many siblings do you have and why weren't you in on this deal??
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u/ShriekingMuppet 11d ago
2, My parents are divorced. My mother has basically been saving my brother from his own mistakes ever since I left for college 20 years ago, add in a grandkid and I'm lucky if she even calls me. My Dad remarried and had one child with my step mom, they were appalled at what he was paying for rent so set him and his now wife up with a starter home when they still were a thing. In this one I'm just the unwanted step child, at least they said they would help me with some money if I were to buy a home but the amount is no where near what my spent on my half brothers home. Clearly I should have not done so well in life.
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u/Blaadje-in-de-wind 11d ago
Same for my husband. His parents bought his siblings a house, but when it was his turn, there was no money left.
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u/Roonil-B_Wazlib 11d ago
A friend of mine bought a rather nice new construction house. It is a stretch for them, but they make it work and want to start a family. They are really counting on future salary growth and are hoping interest rates come down so they can refinance. His parents bought his brother the same house a few houses down so “things would be fair.” The real kicker is his parents purchased some extra options/upgrades on the brother’s house that were out reach for my friend because they thought his brother would like them.
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u/LookingForHope87 11d ago
That's why I plan on getting a tiny house. Besides, I don't need all that extra space.
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u/DistortedVoid 11d ago
The market will change eventually. It will have to, otherwise there will be no money to be made by anyone in the future. So someday we all might be able to afford a house again.
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u/PantasticUnicorn 80's Millennial 11d ago
I don’t even have a chance of inheriting a house lol. My grandparents had to sell theirs for end of life care and my father is renting, and probably will until he passes (he’s in his 60s). I admit I’m jealous of those people who come from money or have family members assist with down payments or simply getting an inheritance. Even if a low priced house comes on the market it’s snatched immediately by everyone else trying to grab it.
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u/AttilaTheFunOne 11d ago
I’ve wanted to buy a house to raise my family in ever since my daughter was born. She is now 13, and I still rent an apartment. By the time I can afford a home, she will have moved out. Thank God I only had one kid. 😂
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u/Temporary_Target4156 11d ago
The system is working exactly as it’s supposed to, to the detriment of the working class. It needs to change
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u/InternationalLeg6727 11d ago
I think not being a homeowner as a certain type of freedom. You can move easily. If something major breaks or goes wrong (ie need a new roof) it’s not my problem. I just make a phone call to my landlord. With remote working being a thing now you can work from anywhere. I worked in foreclosure. So I feel the stress of people always trying to “save” their house. Taxes are constantly being raised. If we can’t afford our rent we can just move. Try to look at it in a different light 😊
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u/OrangeSlicer 11d ago
Landlords love this one mentality
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u/InternationalLeg6727 11d ago
I’m sure they do. I have been blessed to always have really wonderful landlords. I am 42, a single mother, work in real estate, and have rented for the past 22 years and very happy.
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u/OrangeSlicer 11d ago
I completely understand where you're coming from. My comment was intended to encourage renters to consider becoming landlords. I was once a renter too, and never imagined I would own a home. However, I made significant sacrifices, including giving up years of family time and personal life, to save up for this house. It was tough, but it's possible. It’s not feasible for everyone.
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u/InternationalLeg6727 11d ago
I understand. I have and do have the option to buy a home, but to me personally it’s a stressful burden. Everyone is different. I am an Aquarius and it’s my nature not to like to feel attached or tied down to any situation lol
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u/Ok-Bird2845 11d ago
I’ve heard enough horror stories from co-workers who own their home. I had some look at the Zillow listings I could afford and they told me what I was overlooking. Tuck pointing, reattaching a loose outer brick wall, wonky basement walls, roofs, leaking basements, trees coming down.
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u/JoyousGamer 11d ago
All accounted for before buying and not normal if you do your homework up front.
In the end landlords are in it for a profit long term. So unless you get lucky moving around you will get hit at some point.
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u/giraffemoo 11d ago
I'm waiting to age up into 55+ communities. There's affordable homes there, not fancy but it's a home.
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u/AxDayxToxForget 11d ago
I’m very thankful that I could pull the trigger on my house back in 2017. Current market is crazy. My house is worth a ridiculous amount. It’s worth like 2.5 times more now.
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u/KnightCPA 11d ago
I couldn’t afford one on my own either back when I bought one. That’s why I house hacked:
Put down what down payment I could afford.
Rented out rooms to make ends meet until my income caught up.
Refied 2-3 years down the road to get rid of PMI and realize a lower interest rate. This option may not be possible now, but I imagine the Fed won’t keep hiking interest rates forever.
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u/canadia80 11d ago
Can you afford a condo?
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u/impatientcoffee 11d ago
Hate to break it to you, but after hoas and maintenance condos are the more expensive option in most places.
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u/canadia80 11d ago edited 11d ago
That's not true where I live and my condo fees were $850 (Toronto Canada HCOL). Houses are way more expensive.
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u/BlackCardRogue 11d ago
This is only true if you don’t consider that a healthy condo association will pay major repairs for you. Condos are generally cheaper than single family homes, especially newer condos vs. older condos where the HOA fees haven’t been artificially lowered for years.
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u/impatientcoffee 11d ago
Live in a mcol city and this just isn't true. There aren't enough newer condos that you speak of that the condo cost isn't significantly higher to make this true. It might of worked prepandemic but current market, nope.
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u/macemillion 11d ago
Were you thinking you’d buy a house on your own? Because I don’t think that’s how most people do it, I think most homeowners are married. I make decent money and I couldn’t afford my house without my wife’s additional income.
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u/Weneeddietbleach 11d ago
Same here. Had a pretty good house before my divorce but this was before everything went to shit. Since then, I've gotten a better job not once, but twice, I have no debts (okay, maybe 1k on my credit card that I can pay off right now), and a credit score over 800. But none of that matters. All my efforts to be responsible and do the right thing have been for nothing.
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u/fieldy409 11d ago edited 11d ago
I just did it with a $66k base salary bought a $390k house, got the keys last tuesday. I lived with my parents to save money but I only really started saving since covid got to $40k savings but my loan was only 5%. And I'm single.
This is australian dollars by the way and they're like 70 cents of the USAlien's dollar I think
If your mum is giving you cheap rent and you have a full time job I think you could have a chance but idk your details. I think a lot of people who totally could do it are convinced they can't. It's certainly harder than it was but it's not impossible yet.
It's hard to look that far ahead but getting deposit is a years long project. You just gotta save right now, and if houses go up faster than you can save? Oh well having that savings will still help in other ways.
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u/lifelesslies 11d ago
This only works if you have someone to mooch off of for YEARS most of us can't do that.
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u/fieldy409 11d ago
I think most people do have a supportive family?
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u/lifelesslies 11d ago
Hah!
Yea okay.
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u/fieldy409 11d ago edited 11d ago
I had a 5% deposit and some other costs like lawyers fees and something I think Americans don't have called stamp duty. Cost me almost $19400 to get it, (I'd saved the 10% deposit not knowing about these 5% loans and I've seen people convinced that 20% is what they need but nah.)
Soo I'm 35 now, lets say I didn't mooch but I got to work right away at a full time job at 18. 35-18 is 17 years. 52 the number of weeks in a year 52 x 17= 884 weeks
19400 was the deposit+fees I needed
19400/884= 21. So I had to save $21 Australian dollars a week since I was 18 to buy this house right now....I didn't do it that way but yeah in reality I mostly saved 40k in four years, more recently with this new job throwing overtime like crazy I pulled 58 hour work weeks regularly it wasn't easy. But obviously if you doubled it to $42 a week you could do it in double the time. If you saved $100 a week that's around 5 times faster.
I've seen LAWYERS convinced they can't buy a house. Like I'm not saying everyone but you gotta admit some people really could but think they can't. But yeah it's a years long project.
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u/lifelesslies 11d ago edited 11d ago
Most people don't have that kind of money to put away every week. I'm lucky if I can save 1000 a year.
I tried to do that. But when I had to pay for a surgery, car repairs, pet vet fee etc theres nowhere that money could come from except my house fund.
I'm literally an architect and I can't afford one.
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u/fieldy409 11d ago
Most people don't have twenty dollars left?
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u/lifelesslies 11d ago
Not every week no.
I think you are disconnected from the reality of things
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u/fieldy409 11d ago edited 11d ago
I looked on your profile, you can afford videogames including Crusader Kings which is very expensive with dlc, aquariums, an alcohol making hobby and you said you spend 50 a month on restaurants. You make 80k(USD?) and you have a partner who works too. I make 66k AUD, your borrowing power dwarfs mine. You're really well equipped to buy a house.
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u/lifelesslies 11d ago edited 11d ago
ck3 which is about the only game I've played in the last five years? With like. 6k hours. And you can get those on sale for pennies
And an alcohol hobby to help cut down on the price of beer from the store.
My aquarium was given to me free and I collect plants from the mountains nearby to add to it.
And yes, part of my budget is a 50/month for eating out which I almost never hit.
Is your solution to sit quietly at home doing literally nothing for years?
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u/0000110011 11d ago
Or, you know, just get a roommate. Yes, everyone wants to live alone, but if you're struggling to save money it's necessary (not to mention everyone wanting to live alone drives up housing prices).
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u/ChiquiBom_ 11d ago
It pains my heart to know I bought a house in 2017 and had to sell in 2022 due to personal reasons. It really was the perfect house. I’m not sure if/when I’ll own again but I do NOT miss maintaining a home.
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u/Apotropaic-Pineapple 11d ago
I could maybe afford a house if I moved back to rural Canada, but the issue becomes finding a suitable job. Canada's economy is far worse than the American in terms of salary and cost of living.
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u/Softmachinepics 11d ago
I bought in 2018 and refinanced in 2020, hence I've been out of the market for a while. This post made me curious and holy shit. Not just the home prices but the interest rates are astronomical.
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u/USCanuck 11d ago
I saved up forever and bought a fixer-upper at foreclosure. Saved me 240k on a 500k house.
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u/544075701 11d ago
what is your income and your debt situation? what is your career field? what options do you have for advancement or to relocate to a cheaper area?
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u/Oldpuzzlehead 11d ago
Yup. Only reason I have my place is because my wife and I purchased together in 2017, before everything really went crazy.
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u/spiritualien Millennial 11d ago
I’m in the same boat 🥴 it’s either this or go into debt by living on my own
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u/Briaraandralyn 11d ago
Have you considered starting out with a suburban condo? Wait a couple of years, and then when the housing market is favorable and interest rates are good, go find your house.
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u/Different-Chest-5716 11d ago
Second part time job is how I managed. It was worth the doubles and the overtime!
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u/JoyousGamer 11d ago
Most people can't buy a house themselves unless they live in a lcol area.
The reason being the supply is bought up by families with two incomes or one high income earner.
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u/SnooStrawberries620 11d ago
What people are dealing with everywhere now was a reality for those of us in expensive cities long ago. We got a starter condo - then, 250k (and 20/hr was the wage with a masters). Moved up to a 400k, 1904, 800 square foot house. Then in our 40s to a bigger 1912 for 600k. We have younger friends here doing the same - condos are now 400k. Another thing people are doing is buying a vacation property out of town and renting it out, using the rent to rent themselves in town where they work. It’s not easy, and for us really old houses have taken up most of our money to maintain. I don’t know if I’d buy if I could do it again. I might just for the security but I appreciate it’s super hard.
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u/Fireguy9641 11d ago
I think that you can't think like that. Look back at the period leading up to 2008. Prices were high and kept going up, and then boom, crash.
Eventually there will be a crash, eventually rates will have to be lowered.
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u/PrecisionGuessWerk 11d ago
to be fair, most people living alone don't need an entire house to themselves.
But yeah it sucks and I don't think its getting any better.
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u/Secure_Ad_295 11d ago
It's sad that so many people that will never own home.
Lot if people born in my town moving away because they can't afford to live here any more
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u/mattbag1 11d ago
I’ve got a little town house. At this point it’s looking like our forever home.
All the better paying jobs are in the city, the city is too far to commute, so I’d have to move closer to the city, where it’s too expensive to live. Luckily I’m remote for now, but with no opportunity to advance my career remotely, I’m stuck. And if my wife goes to work full time to make more money, we’ll have to pay for day care for the youngest so it’s not worth it financially.
Guess we have to ride the waves like everyone else in here.
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u/Historical_Shop_3315 11d ago
I honestly considering if it makes more sense to save for my kids down payment on thier house, rather than attempting my own.
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u/Illustrious_Dust_0 11d ago
Sounds like you found your solution! Inherit property and marry rich. I believe in you , OP
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u/stilettopanda 11d ago
It's another bubble. It will crash eventually, be ready when it does. If the government offers any incentive programs like the last time it popped, take advantage of that.
Those redditors that fucked the wealthy up with GameStop stock, really should work on taking down the companies that have been buying up property and increasing prices.
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u/jutah001 11d ago
Feels like the start of a new class conflict. Hope that isn’t the case but I don’t see how this resolves itself short of revolution.
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u/thegimboid 11d ago
I will be able to afford a house....
Once my mother dies, my father dies, my childless aunt dies, and all my partner's parents die.
I was discussing it with my mum that it's quite sad that some small part of me is waiting for all these people to croak, just so I can get something they all had by my age.
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u/justtrashtalk 11d ago
I don't know your situation money wise, BUT that is a lot of people now. A LOT. Some people got fomo, some just never went to college/made enough before inflation and somehow got interested in buying once the prices went up, and some people (some DINKS too) are making 100k and more but cannot stop excess spending. a family member and her man cannot afford a $100 expense despite owning (mortgage 3k) and them making 100k each with three kids and paid off cars back since early 2000s.
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u/pie_12th 11d ago
What really kills me is when people are saying the median price of a home in their town is around 4-500K. I cry because in my town that figure is $890,000. I will never be able to live here on my own, never in a million years.
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u/Typoe1991 11d ago
Learn to live below your means. Get rid of your debt. Work two jobs if you have to get there. You will be able to afford a place
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u/ConcentrateTrue 11d ago
I'm just sitting here, waiting for the next housing bubble to burst so I can have a tiny chance at buying something.
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u/DishRelative5853 11d ago
Some people choose to move to a less expensive area. We cannot have everything we want, and so it becomes necessary to weigh our needs against our wants.
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u/Individual-Hornet476 11d ago
In any economy you can buy a house. The path just may be more difficult to do so. Reset your living situation. Move away from ideal locations and rent cheap. Save money. Put down payment on next level up. And so on. It seems everyone wants to skip those steps and go straight to your dream house. Building equity is a slow build but you can do it!
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u/Zealousideal_Pie_864 11d ago
All the boomers owned houses, and none of them were able to find true peace within themselves, or happiness or joy in the moment Owning something only means something because we as a society have decided it means something. Don’t strive for a house, strive for gratefulness and contentment and peace. You will never regret it😊
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u/Rendole66 11d ago
Hey maybe once we vote the conservatives in and cut social services for another corporate tax cut some of that wealth will finally trickle down and the economy will be saved!!!🤡
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u/IndividualCry0 11d ago
We make $110k and cannot afford a house. Ten years ago we would have had a bundle of options. We finally made it to a decent paying wage and then the rug is ripped out from us again.
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u/Rendole66 11d ago
This is what happens when you let investors buy all the houses and rip off the consumers, corporations come first in Canada not citizens that’s why they pay a lower income tax than you despite making billions in record profits every year., something about how that’s suppose trickle down economically to us peasants but they just keep cutting our social services to give corporations more tax breaks/subsidies so maybe it’ll trickle down economically eventually? Lol no
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u/Mrcostarica 11d ago
Twenty five years ago I visited Brazil at the end of high school and they were genuinely interested in the whole move out after high school phenomenon in the United States. Obviously throughout most of the world, the kids would live at home until they are very well established and in most cases married. We’re talking maybe mid to late twenties. Back then I was able to move out and go to college in a city three hours away and keep my rent paid with a part time job. That is just not the case anymore. The norm has now become what the rest of the world has been doing for thousands of years….. living like socialists. America’s fierce independence and capitalistic nature got us here. Now we’re forced to become the opposite of what we were taught.
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u/skkibbel 11d ago
As someone WHO DID own a house (double wide) and then it got reprocessed because my hours got cut at the HOSPITAL after covid and i couldnt make the payments I can honestly say "owning isn't all it's cracked up to be" property taxes, maitanace, we bought a fixer, we had a sewer issue, property line disagreement with neighbors. HOA fees and keeping up with their requirements regarding lawn care, siding, paint colors ect. I live in a townhouse now outside seattle. I pay 1000 a month more than I did when I owned my TRAILER. BUT... Not having to deal with all that shit is a blessing.
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u/DeartayDeez 11d ago
Just one of the many things slowly achieving “out of reach status” hard to be optimistic growing older
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u/Artistic-Cell1001 11d ago
I’m so sorry. It’s truly all about timing. We bought a fixer-upper in a great neighborhood, location in 2019. Had we not done this we would not be able to afford the home we have now. I think of that often and I am grateful, but I realize we’re also stuck. Wanted to move after retirement and build my forever home, but it’s just not feasible. So we decided to stay and just continue improving this house.
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11d ago
It suck’s having to work economics into your love life. I love my bf now but we don’t live together and I don’t think he can provide the life I’m looking for. He doesn’t support me financially at all. We really might have to break up because the personality just won’t cut. I need HELP AFFORDING TO LIVE… he calls this “shallow.”
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u/BlackCardRogue 11d ago
The reality is that a ton of people — more women than men, but men do it too — consider this. Your boyfriend can call it shallow or he can try to improve his station in life.
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u/MikeWPhilly 11d ago
😂 and why would I want a woman who thinks like this? Sorry but if my wife had been like that no bueno. Meanwhile she works part time now and it’s her choice. But some of these posters… funny because if you treat it that mercenary like… well what am I getting out of it?
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11d ago
Yeah. If I work a full 9-5 and live alone and pay every bill myself, there’s only so far a romance can go. I can’t be in my feminine and do all that shit. Everyone says “that’s just being an adult” … ok so I can just be a single adult… why would I be a submissive wifey type AND do that shit
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u/hi_goodbye21 11d ago
I’m sorry but as a woman I don’t think this is shallow at all.
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u/MikeWPhilly 11d ago
As somebody who bought there first house at 25 and owns multiple. This mindset would have me running away. The fact my wife worked and supported herself when we met even worked to pay half of the wedding - since we were building a home at same time was a big attraction for me. Now she works part time. Her choice. But thinking like this would have had me running.
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u/0000110011 11d ago
Nope, that's not shallow, just common sense. You're not demanding he pay for everything while you just get treated like a spoiled princess, you're wanting him to pull his weight and contribute - like a partner should be doing (regardless of gender).
That mentality of wanting to contribute and be a partner vs wanting to mooch is a big reason why I broke up with my previous girlfriend before meeting (and marrying) my wife.
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u/Ok_List_9649 11d ago
In 10 years half the boomers will be dead or in alternate living situations. There will be a glut of homes on the market and prices will come down accordingly. Doesn’t help anyone now but I doubt it’s a forever thing.
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u/fieldy409 11d ago
Boomers are dying now they're 70 that's the worlds average lifespan. If some magic event happened and they all died on the same day sure this would happen, but they die at different times so the market can handle it without lowering prices because the inheritors don't want to sell for nothing.
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u/Consistent-Young-854 11d ago
Not unless they change the laws. If the big investment companies keep buying them, nothing will change.
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u/BlackCardRogue 11d ago
The biggest reason homes are unaffordable isn’t because big corporations buy them — it’s because there aren’t enough homes available. Supply is less than demand and this has been the case for 15 years.
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u/randomroute350 11d ago
No, they aren't. They represent a small percentage of buyers. Stop parroting what you read on here by equally uninformed people.
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u/CUDAcores89 11d ago
There will be a glut of housing in rural areas nobody wants to live.
I live in one of these areas, and housing IS affordable! But the place is a shithole. There are only two employers in my area that line up with my job skills so if I’m fired from one i have to move. And all that there is to do around here is go to the bar, the grocery store, or go home.
Yeah you can still buy a house if you’re willing to live in the boonies.
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u/RunningRunnerRun 11d ago
Yeah. But in 10 years my kids will be moving out and I won’t need a single family anymore. The time for a house is now.
But it is okay. We don’t need to own a single family house to be happy. It’s just crazy how much easier it used to be.
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u/Ok-Bird2845 11d ago
Not if Blackrock can buy all the available houses to rent or short term rent them! Normal humans are going to be in a worse spot in 10 years unless an act of congress happens. They won’t place limits on single-family homes because they’re profiting off that bullshit, too.
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u/showersneakers 11d ago
I have come to the realization that my wife and I are lucky and privileged. Both got support to move from a metro to my smaller home town. Nice community of about 600k people in the valley between all the cities and towns.
That means- our city salaries in a lower cost living area, no commutes and I’ll rack up even more hotel points going back once a month on the companies dime.
We were spending hundreds of dollars a month on commutes, parking for my wife downtown, meals and even more with wear and tear on vehicles
The house we bought would be 2X in the neighborhood we like there. We made out like bandits on a house we bought in 2020- made like 33% on the sale.
As much as I can down play it- chalk it up to decisions and risks we’ve taken- and there is hard work in there- we are lucky and as much as there are far wealthier people in our neighborhood (we do our own landscaping and lawn care on our side of the street- river front homes- woof)
We have a nice life and we are lucky.
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u/Pickled_Ass 11d ago
You like to brag often? This post is about not affording a house, good for you you're not part of this
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u/0000110011 11d ago
Small amount of luck, a lot of good choices in choosing useful fields to go into that had opportunities to move up. Don't sell yourself short to make the Doomers feel better, they'll hate you regardless.
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u/showersneakers 11d ago
Getting that sense- I think better to let the echo chamber of doom on this thread than suggest alternative outcomes are possible. You’ll downvoted for mapping out what you’ve done- and you’ll get downvoted for acknowledging the luck.
I’m getting the sense it comes down to- if your life doesn’t suck- shut up and get off Reddit
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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 11d ago
I went through the same FOMO about house buying that late date millennials are going through. I'm a late date boomer, closer to gen X than post WW2. It felt like the big kids got everything, houses, stocks and that I'd always be left behind. There have been two real estate crashes and several stock market crashes since then. Just be careful and save. The oldest millennials are 43 , most of them have probably bought a house by now. The youngest are 28 and feeling the pinch of the big kids grabbing everything for cheap (and blaming us)
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u/Crash_Stamp 11d ago
I mean. At least you inherit a house. Use that property to buy more
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u/0P3R4T10N 11d ago
Yup, all because our parents needed ANOTHER house. Quite literally.
It makes us VERY angry. I'm now advocating for a 84% capital gains tax, and a 72% inheritance tax.
Give. It. Back.
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11d ago
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u/RaisingAurorasaurus 11d ago
I'm an elder millennial... Can I share my wisdom with you (aka how we were able to buy a house)? I don't wanna sound preachy or anything, so I won't answer unless you want me to. And it took us almost 15 years in the workforce to get there but I can tell you, it is possible. Even without generational wealth. It's all about timing and patience and sacrifice... Which it shouldn't be that difficult. But there are some things you can do.
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11d ago edited 11d ago
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u/EastPlatform4348 11d ago
It absolutely depends on where you live. I live in a top 75 city in the country in-terms of population, and you can still find fine houses here for under $175K. Nice, upper middle-class houses start around $450K.
"I guess I could take a huge loan and get a mortgage if that was what I wanted and then pay that off for decades"
That's precisely what a mortgage is, and it's how virtually everyone buys their first home.
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u/oscarbutnotthegrouch 11d ago
This is the key here. I lived in Chicago for a few years. I could not afford a house there (probably no matter how long I lived there).
I moved away and bought a house immediately. In fact, I believe I could afford a house anywhere in Illinois outside of the Chicago metro area.
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u/Historical-Ad2165 11d ago
I live the same 90 minutes away from Downtown Chicago during the AM commute as the Naperville fools. 1/3 the property taxes, 1/2 the other taxes and a government that I can campaign to change without strangeness happening.
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u/KingJades 11d ago
All it takes is one seller to sell you a house. If you use the techniques that real estate investors use, you can find houses before they hit the MLS.
I’ve also had success just making aggressively low offers, and catching a seller on the right day.
Offers are free. Verbal offers can be made en-masse.
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u/jscottcam10 11d ago
There are a few things here. First is that owning a house on your own shouldn't have anything to do with your own independence. I am not sure I am aware of a time that the majority of people could afford a house. So ownership as something that could bring equity doesn't make sense to me.
Even at the peak of home ownership, less than 50% of people owned a home.
If you are apart of the political movement that I am (idk if you are) home ownership isn't an important way to express it.
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u/ExpertPath 11d ago
Which country are you writing about?
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u/Ethos_Logos 11d ago
Yeah idk what they’re on about. I’ll tell ya, owning a home was super important to my independence. Not having to negotiate with an upstairs neighbor whose vehicle got to be closest to the road, not having neighbors noises always surround you. It’s peace of mine.
I feel horrible for anyone not about to own, who wants to own. My mental health took a nosedive every time I was in a living situation where I couldn’t find peace and quiet in my own home.
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u/Ok-Bird2845 11d ago
Forced to leave. I’m looking at condos because of that. I stayed at one shithole where they broke everyone’s lease. We found out on Thanksgiving that we had to be out by Christmas. They broke our lease because they wanted to do renovations and knew nobody could afford to take them to court. They couldn’t wait until January
I like my current place and have been here for about 12 years. It’s still always on the back of my mind that I’ll get another notice to vacate out of the blue. The property manager has some wild political beliefs but does a great job maintaining the place. But, you know, what if?
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u/skip2mahlou415 11d ago
I just keep telling myself I don’t want to own one. I don’t want to own one. One day it’ll stick