> Are you saying houses are too expensive, or wages are too low? Median housing cost is 54% of median income. That's.. high. The general recommendation is 30%.

> Are you saying houses are too expensive, or wages are too low? Median housing cost is 54% of median income. That's.. high. The general recommendation is 30%. > A $170 premium to rent versus own seems like a wonderful price to pay to not have to come up with a $45k down payment. On the other hand, you'll be building equity with a house instead of building someone else's equity with rent. And housing prices don't always go up, but they mostly do. 11 years into a $210k house and I'm walking with nearly $100k after subtracting maintenance costs (carpeting, dishwasher, washer/dryer, water heater, roof, gutters, interior drywall repair, and exterior paint). Total mortgage payments have been about $190k. So I effectively paid $750/month to live in a 2000+ sq ft, 4 bedroom, 2 car attached garage house in a first-ring suburb of our state's metro area (renting it would be well over $2k/month) and I have a nice pile of cash I otherwise wouldn't have saved.