13 ms·

That is very modest considering his wealth, and within the reach of many middle-class and even working-class people.

UncleMeat 5y ago
A working class person owning a 6700 sqft home? I live in a MCOL area and that would be a $1,000,000 home at a typical price per square foot. In a suburb of a major city that is going to be much more expensive. "Starter home".
- throw0101a 5y ago
  The median house price in Omaha is $128/sq. ft. (~$1280/sq. m.): * https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Omaha_NE/overview https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Omaha_NE/o... 6700 * 128 = 857 600. From 2017: > This is the home of billionaire Warren Buffett. Located in a quiet neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. He bought the house for $31,500 in 1958, $250,000 in today's dollars. It's now worth an estimated $652,619. He calls it the "third-best investment he's ever made." * https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-bought-31500-looks-2017-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-b...
  - syshum 5y ago
    While that is technically accurate, a "working class" person living in an area where there is $128/sqft homes is not making enough to afford a 6,700 sq ft home... So sure you may be able to say working class in some other area makes enough to afford a similar PRICED home in their area, but that similar priced home in say LA would be 1/3 the size The median income in Omaha is 32,305 (USD) going off even 4x income to debt ratio that would be a home price $129,220 or about 1,000 sq foot, not too far off the average home size of 1300-1500 for a normal ranch home
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    And what does a working class person make in Omaha, $35,000? Less? A 30y mortgage at today's low interest rates with a 20% downpayment (how is this person going to save $160,000 for the downpayment?), you are spending $18,000 on a mortgage plus property tax. Add $8,000 for maintenance and suddenly a very very large portion of a working class income is going entirely to this house.
    - handrous 5y ago
      Yep. When you see places like this in the US it is basically always the case that local incomes are shockingly (to a coastal or mountain-west sort) low, maybe coupled with stagnant or very slow population growth. You end up with decades worth of high-end house construction—some likely from better economic times—being competed over by only a tiny sliver of the local population who can afford the half-million to one-million range, for housing. When population and economic growth go negative, you'll see whole areas of amazing, beautiful houses rotting where they stand, because no-one wants them or because they've gotten so cheap that people who can't afford to keep them up can afford to buy them.
    - UncleMeat 5y ago
      Whoops. Did my math very wrong. 30y mortgage for a 850k house with a 20% downpayment comes out to >30k annually.
    - missedthecue 5y ago
      Median household income in Omaha is over $60k
- joshuaissac 5y ago
  The article estimates the value of the house as 652k USD. That is about 470k GBP. A working-class couple earning the average UK salary (31.5k GBP) could conceivably afford that with a 4.5x salary mortgage if they save 5-10 years for the deposit. It would be enough for a 5-bedroom house in most places in the UK outside London. It is not a guarantee and they could be facing other costs that prevent them from saving up, but it is also not necessarily out of reach.
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    If you have to save 5-10 years for the deposit, you can't afford the house in a meaningful sense. "It is literally possible for them to risk their finances with a huge loan on a mortgage they will struggle to pay if anything goes wrong" is not really the same thing.
    - joshuaissac 5y ago
      > If you have to save 5-10 years for the deposit, you can't afford the house in a meaningful sense In the UK, people are already having to save for 8-10 years for their deposits. The difference is that for a £470k house, a couple on an average salary will have to save more each month (by aggressively cutting expenses). It may not be acceptable in some countries to wait for so long, and many people may find the lifestyle sacrifices not worth it. Even for those prepared to go through with it, > "It is literally possible for them to risk their finances with a huge loan on a mortgage they will struggle to pay if anything goes wrong" is not really the same thing. That is not what I said or even implied. The monthly mortgage repayments a 5-bedroom house will most likely be cheaper than rent on even a smaller house, so the couple should be able to still build up an emergency reserve. The hardest part is getting the deposit together, which takes sustained discipline over a long period of time living below their means while everyone else is living it up, and can still be disrupted by life events (job loss, family needs, etc.). Only some working-class people earn wages that are high enough to do this. But once they have the house, not having to pay rent anymore will actually increase their disposable income, not even considering possibility of renting out the house if they face financial difficulties.
    - 5y ago
- foobarian 5y ago
  Buffet is in the cohort of people who buy double-digit million dollar properties next to their residence just so they are not bothered by neighbors. From that altitude a mere 6ksqft house is hard to tell apart from working class.
pc86 5y ago
If you think a 7ksqft 5-bedroom home with fences and security is within reach of the working class, you have no idea what working class is and/or how much a 7ksqft 5-bedroom home costs.
- pugets 5y ago
  The point is that the house is valued at around $1 million, and Buffett’s net worth is around $82 billion.
- BayAreaEscapee 5y ago
  Buffet probably only needs the fence and security because of his success. If he were an average Joe of no notoriety, he could live there without the security.
  - acwan93 5y ago
    Yep, it was installed after an intruder tried to get into his house at night: https://www.deseret.com/2007/9/7/20039771/intruder-at-buffett-home https://www.deseret.com/2007/9/7/20039771/intruder-at-buffet...
- read_if_gay_ 5y ago
  Mostly just a question of the location.
- redisman 5y ago
  In Nebraska. Not for the working class but upper middle class definitely
  - brewdad 5y ago
    If we go off the 4x income to debt ratio a poster above used, a household income of about $162K is needed to be able to afford Mr Buffett's home. That income places you in the 95th percentile of Nebraska household incomes.[1] That's a pretty narrow slice to be even "upper" middle class. [1] https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/

A working class person owning a 6700 sqft home? I live in a MCOL area and that would be a $1,000,000 home at a typical price per square foot. In a suburb of a major city that is going to be much more expensive. "Starter home".

throw0101a 5y ago
The median house price in Omaha is $128/sq. ft. (~$1280/sq. m.): * https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Omaha_NE/overview https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Omaha_NE/o... 6700 * 128 = 857 600. From 2017: > This is the home of billionaire Warren Buffett. Located in a quiet neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. He bought the house for $31,500 in 1958, $250,000 in today's dollars. It's now worth an estimated $652,619. He calls it the "third-best investment he's ever made." * https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-bought-31500-looks-2017-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-b...
- syshum 5y ago
  While that is technically accurate, a "working class" person living in an area where there is $128/sqft homes is not making enough to afford a 6,700 sq ft home... So sure you may be able to say working class in some other area makes enough to afford a similar PRICED home in their area, but that similar priced home in say LA would be 1/3 the size The median income in Omaha is 32,305 (USD) going off even 4x income to debt ratio that would be a home price $129,220 or about 1,000 sq foot, not too far off the average home size of 1300-1500 for a normal ranch home
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  And what does a working class person make in Omaha, $35,000? Less? A 30y mortgage at today's low interest rates with a 20% downpayment (how is this person going to save $160,000 for the downpayment?), you are spending $18,000 on a mortgage plus property tax. Add $8,000 for maintenance and suddenly a very very large portion of a working class income is going entirely to this house.
  - handrous 5y ago
    Yep. When you see places like this in the US it is basically always the case that local incomes are shockingly (to a coastal or mountain-west sort) low, maybe coupled with stagnant or very slow population growth. You end up with decades worth of high-end house construction—some likely from better economic times—being competed over by only a tiny sliver of the local population who can afford the half-million to one-million range, for housing. When population and economic growth go negative, you'll see whole areas of amazing, beautiful houses rotting where they stand, because no-one wants them or because they've gotten so cheap that people who can't afford to keep them up can afford to buy them.
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    Whoops. Did my math very wrong. 30y mortgage for a 850k house with a 20% downpayment comes out to >30k annually.
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    Median household income in Omaha is over $60k
joshuaissac 5y ago
The article estimates the value of the house as 652k USD. That is about 470k GBP. A working-class couple earning the average UK salary (31.5k GBP) could conceivably afford that with a 4.5x salary mortgage if they save 5-10 years for the deposit. It would be enough for a 5-bedroom house in most places in the UK outside London. It is not a guarantee and they could be facing other costs that prevent them from saving up, but it is also not necessarily out of reach.
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  If you have to save 5-10 years for the deposit, you can't afford the house in a meaningful sense. "It is literally possible for them to risk their finances with a huge loan on a mortgage they will struggle to pay if anything goes wrong" is not really the same thing.
  - joshuaissac 5y ago
    > If you have to save 5-10 years for the deposit, you can't afford the house in a meaningful sense In the UK, people are already having to save for 8-10 years for their deposits. The difference is that for a £470k house, a couple on an average salary will have to save more each month (by aggressively cutting expenses). It may not be acceptable in some countries to wait for so long, and many people may find the lifestyle sacrifices not worth it. Even for those prepared to go through with it, > "It is literally possible for them to risk their finances with a huge loan on a mortgage they will struggle to pay if anything goes wrong" is not really the same thing. That is not what I said or even implied. The monthly mortgage repayments a 5-bedroom house will most likely be cheaper than rent on even a smaller house, so the couple should be able to still build up an emergency reserve. The hardest part is getting the deposit together, which takes sustained discipline over a long period of time living below their means while everyone else is living it up, and can still be disrupted by life events (job loss, family needs, etc.). Only some working-class people earn wages that are high enough to do this. But once they have the house, not having to pay rent anymore will actually increase their disposable income, not even considering possibility of renting out the house if they face financial difficulties.
  - 5y ago
foobarian 5y ago
Buffet is in the cohort of people who buy double-digit million dollar properties next to their residence just so they are not bothered by neighbors. From that altitude a mere 6ksqft house is hard to tell apart from working class.

pc86 5y ago

If you think a 7ksqft 5-bedroom home with fences and security is within reach of the working class, you have no idea what working class is and/or how much a 7ksqft 5-bedroom home costs.

pugets 5y ago
The point is that the house is valued at around $1 million, and Buffett’s net worth is around $82 billion.
BayAreaEscapee 5y ago
Buffet probably only needs the fence and security because of his success. If he were an average Joe of no notoriety, he could live there without the security.
- acwan93 5y ago
  Yep, it was installed after an intruder tried to get into his house at night: https://www.deseret.com/2007/9/7/20039771/intruder-at-buffett-home https://www.deseret.com/2007/9/7/20039771/intruder-at-buffet...
read_if_gay_ 5y ago
Mostly just a question of the location.
redisman 5y ago
In Nebraska. Not for the working class but upper middle class definitely
- brewdad 5y ago
  If we go off the 4x income to debt ratio a poster above used, a household income of about $162K is needed to be able to afford Mr Buffett's home. That income places you in the 95th percentile of Nebraska household incomes.[1] That's a pretty narrow slice to be even "upper" middle class. [1] https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/