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So of the top 50% of income earners, half of them have their houses paid off completely? That doesn't seem right.
by bcheung 9y ago
So of the top 50% of income earners, half of them have their houses paid off completely? That doesn't seem right.
- ac29 9y agoMaybe these graphs will help: Median Family Income: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS Median Price of New Homes: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEFAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEFAINUSA672N Comparing 1965 to 2015, in 1965 a new home cost less than half of what a family earned in a year, in 2015 it cost 4 times annual earnings. Times have changed. The crossover point, where median house prices exceeded median family annual incomes didn't occur until the 1980s -- meaning people who bought houses during that period or prior likely had little trouble servicing multi-decade mortgages, or even paying them off early.