4 ms·

Had you not bought the first house, would you be able to afford you current house on your salary? People who bought houses in the last 10 years were lucky enoug

Had you not bought the first house, would you be able to afford you current house on your salary? People who bought houses in the last 10 years were lucky enough to get in when the market was historically low. People currently shopping for there first house are not so lucky.

CountDrewku 5y ago
The market is always "low" in the areas I've lived in. That's my point. My brother also just but a very nice house for 180k. There are plenty of affordable places in this country. >People who bought houses in the last 10 years were lucky enough to get in when the market was historically low. You realize those same people also had to deal with a shitty job market and college loans to pay off as soon as they graduated right?
- nate_meurer 5y ago
  > You realize those same people also had to deal with a shitty job market and college loans to pay off as soon as they graduated right? I think this is a good point that's worth repeating in these conversations. It's easy to forget in better times, but economic crashes are really scary. The financial crisis scared the shit out of me; my job situation was tenuous and our finances were shaky, but my wife and I took a big gamble and bought a foreclosed house at what turned out to be the bottom of market. It seems like an obvious choice in hindsight, but it could easily have gone very badly.
ipaddr 5y ago
Exactly.. I couldn't afford to buy before but for a brief window my salary allowed me to buy a home in the area of my city most people were choosing to avoid. I wouldn't qualify the following year and I would be very far off now as my salary did not rise at the same level. What I see smart young people doing is moving away from bigger cities. They get a decent house / lot compared to a condo in a bigger area. Every generation has to move further away (or make more than others) if a city is growing. You don't have to live in a growing city.. you could move to a declining area or a neutral area. There are advantages to living in a declining city.
- ryukafalz 5y ago
  > Every generation has to move further away (or make more than others) if a city is growing I mean... maybe to some extent, but ultimately not really. Growing cities becoming unaffordable is a result of our choices. We can make different choices. https://medium.com/land-buildings-identity-and-values/what-is-the-secret-to-tokyos-affordable-housing-266283531012 https://medium.com/land-buildings-identity-and-values/what-i...
  - imtringued 5y ago
    I don't know why but people love the idea of scarcity and exclusivity. If we had a star trek like post scarcity society in 2031 and transported people from 2021 to it they would try and figure out how to reintroduce scarcity back into the system.
    - leetcrew 5y ago
      that's kind of a weird strawman. I don't think people (in general) love scarcity, but you don't have to think too hard to realize that some desirable things are inherently scarce. even in star trek, there are only so many penthouses with a view of central park.

CountDrewku 5y ago

The market is always "low" in the areas I've lived in. That's my point. My brother also just but a very nice house for 180k. There are plenty of affordable places in this country. >People who bought houses in the last 10 years were lucky enough to get in when the market was historically low. You realize those same people also had to deal with a shitty job market and college loans to pay off as soon as they graduated right?

nate_meurer 5y ago
> You realize those same people also had to deal with a shitty job market and college loans to pay off as soon as they graduated right? I think this is a good point that's worth repeating in these conversations. It's easy to forget in better times, but economic crashes are really scary. The financial crisis scared the shit out of me; my job situation was tenuous and our finances were shaky, but my wife and I took a big gamble and bought a foreclosed house at what turned out to be the bottom of market. It seems like an obvious choice in hindsight, but it could easily have gone very badly.

ipaddr 5y ago

Exactly.. I couldn't afford to buy before but for a brief window my salary allowed me to buy a home in the area of my city most people were choosing to avoid. I wouldn't qualify the following year and I would be very far off now as my salary did not rise at the same level. What I see smart young people doing is moving away from bigger cities. They get a decent house / lot compared to a condo in a bigger area. Every generation has to move further away (or make more than others) if a city is growing. You don't have to live in a growing city.. you could move to a declining area or a neutral area. There are advantages to living in a declining city.

ryukafalz 5y ago
> Every generation has to move further away (or make more than others) if a city is growing I mean... maybe to some extent, but ultimately not really. Growing cities becoming unaffordable is a result of our choices. We can make different choices. https://medium.com/land-buildings-identity-and-values/what-is-the-secret-to-tokyos-affordable-housing-266283531012 https://medium.com/land-buildings-identity-and-values/what-i...
- imtringued 5y ago
  I don't know why but people love the idea of scarcity and exclusivity. If we had a star trek like post scarcity society in 2031 and transported people from 2021 to it they would try and figure out how to reintroduce scarcity back into the system.
  - leetcrew 5y ago
    that's kind of a weird strawman. I don't think people (in general) love scarcity, but you don't have to think too hard to realize that some desirable things are inherently scarce. even in star trek, there are only so many penthouses with a view of central park.