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> The concept of savings or retirement for millennial might as well not even exist. Probably not a popular view, but I think there's some truth to it. Check ou

> The concept of savings or retirement for millennial might as well not even exist. Probably not a popular view, but I think there's some truth to it. Check out the Harvard JCHS article [1], more households are paying 30, 40, and even 50% of their salaries for rent than ever before. Major shifts like this can only be explained by culture, IMO. Maybe the US is undergoing a major shift toward wanting to live in city centers, even at the cost of saving for the future? Or people in certain metros just think they're that exceptional / special / etc. that they "deserve" to live in a certain place? Or everyone in a high-ambition career think they don't need to save because they'll "make it" (maybe true?) and will have fuck-you money in a few years? It's a big change from the past, that's for sure. [1] http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/publications/projecting-trends-severely-cost-burdened-renters-2015%E2%80%932025 http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/publications/projecting...

floppydisk 11y ago
Tangentially, the cost of paying a mortgage is comparable to or cheaper than paying rent in the metro areas I've priced. The problem is getting enough of a % downpayment saved to "unlock" the house purchase option. People I've known who bought houses look at it as locking a "rent rate" in for 30 years and assuming the burden of maintenance rather than riding the fluctuating markets. Right now, they're locked in at lower rates than other people I know are paying in rent to live in a similar area. I willing to wager part of the problem is the lockdown on lending after 07/08 and more people got pushed into the rent market because they couldn't get the loans to purchase a house which has led to the inversion of the cost of owning vs renting. Historically, owning has been more expensive than renting in most places

floppydisk 11y ago

Tangentially, the cost of paying a mortgage is comparable to or cheaper than paying rent in the metro areas I've priced. The problem is getting enough of a % downpayment saved to "unlock" the house purchase option. People I've known who bought houses look at it as locking a "rent rate" in for 30 years and assuming the burden of maintenance rather than riding the fluctuating markets. Right now, they're locked in at lower rates than other people I know are paying in rent to live in a similar area. I willing to wager part of the problem is the lockdown on lending after 07/08 and more people got pushed into the rent market because they couldn't get the loans to purchase a house which has led to the inversion of the cost of owning vs renting. Historically, owning has been more expensive than renting in most places