3 ms·

Those are not mutually exclusive sets. In fact, one is pretty close to a subset of the the other.

closeparen 5y ago
I invite you to try attaining home equity in California through labor. Vanishingly few people in the highest reaches of the state's most lucrative industry are able to do that. These prices aren't made out of saved-up paychecks. Not even for white collar jobs. They are wealth. A group of people who were in the right place at the right time, trading amongst themselves. When an uppity little worker somehow makes enough to break into their club, they take it as a reminder about how that pesky income inequality really needs fixing. Turn up the taxes on wages until he goes away. But no more taxes on our ownership. That's out of the question.
- xibalba 5y ago
  The data do not agree with you. 55% of housing units are owned by their occupant in California[1]. That statistic is trending up. There are estimated to be 13.3 million housing units in California[2]. This means 7.3 million of those units are owned by their occupant(s). The adult population (>=18yo) of California is estimated to be 24.9 million[3]. So if we assume all 7.3 million owner occupied housing units have a single owner-occupant, this would mean that approximately 29% of adult Californians own their residence. This, of course, is an underestimate because many homes are owned by more than one occupant (i.e. families). Thus, at a minimum, 1/3rd of Californians are "attaining equity through labor". Are you telling me all of these people are the moneyed, flying-over-everything capital class? Please fact check your defeatist attitude and consider widening your gaze as to the opportunities available to you. There is no free lunch. Sacrifices and compromises must be made to achieve your goals. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAHOWN https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAHOWN [2] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive/ahstablecreator.html?s_areas=00006&s_year=2019&s_tablename=TABLE1&s_bygroup1=1&s_bygroup2=1&s_filtergroup1=1&s_filtergroup2=1 https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive... [3] https://censusreporter.org/profiles/04000US06-california/ https://censusreporter.org/profiles/04000US06-california/
  - closeparen 5y ago
    The median home price is $818k [0]. That works out to about $3,400/month. To afford that you need to make $130k [1]. That is an 89th percentile wage locally [2]. And that's a single family home. In the cities for that price we're probably talking about a condo with a $500-$1000 monthly HOA. The vast majority of the value in these homes is appreciation. Having more in appreciated asset value than 90% of your neighbors could ever catch up to through wages is exactly what defines the moneyed, flying-over-everything class. I have a home in California, btw. I was able to stretch for a 1BR condo by earning half a million a year. That is definitely not what most other homeowners did, and it's not as if the people with 2BR and 3BR have even better salaries. They have wealth. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/realestate/california-housing-prices.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/realestate/california-hou... [1] https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/how-much-house-can-i-afford/calculate-affordability https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/how-much-house-can-i-af... [2] https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/

I invite you to try attaining home equity in California through labor. Vanishingly few people in the highest reaches of the state's most lucrative industry are able to do that. These prices aren't made out of saved-up paychecks. Not even for white collar jobs. They are wealth. A group of people who were in the right place at the right time, trading amongst themselves. When an uppity little worker somehow makes enough to break into their club, they take it as a reminder about how that pesky income inequality really needs fixing. Turn up the taxes on wages until he goes away. But no more taxes on our ownership. That's out of the question.

xibalba 5y ago
The data do not agree with you. 55% of housing units are owned by their occupant in California[1]. That statistic is trending up. There are estimated to be 13.3 million housing units in California[2]. This means 7.3 million of those units are owned by their occupant(s). The adult population (>=18yo) of California is estimated to be 24.9 million[3]. So if we assume all 7.3 million owner occupied housing units have a single owner-occupant, this would mean that approximately 29% of adult Californians own their residence. This, of course, is an underestimate because many homes are owned by more than one occupant (i.e. families). Thus, at a minimum, 1/3rd of Californians are "attaining equity through labor". Are you telling me all of these people are the moneyed, flying-over-everything capital class? Please fact check your defeatist attitude and consider widening your gaze as to the opportunities available to you. There is no free lunch. Sacrifices and compromises must be made to achieve your goals. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAHOWN https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAHOWN [2] https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive/ahstablecreator.html?s_areas=00006&s_year=2019&s_tablename=TABLE1&s_bygroup1=1&s_bygroup2=1&s_filtergroup1=1&s_filtergroup2=1 https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive... [3] https://censusreporter.org/profiles/04000US06-california/ https://censusreporter.org/profiles/04000US06-california/
- closeparen 5y ago
  The median home price is $818k [0]. That works out to about $3,400/month. To afford that you need to make $130k [1]. That is an 89th percentile wage locally [2]. And that's a single family home. In the cities for that price we're probably talking about a condo with a $500-$1000 monthly HOA. The vast majority of the value in these homes is appreciation. Having more in appreciated asset value than 90% of your neighbors could ever catch up to through wages is exactly what defines the moneyed, flying-over-everything class. I have a home in California, btw. I was able to stretch for a 1BR condo by earning half a million a year. That is definitely not what most other homeowners did, and it's not as if the people with 2BR and 3BR have even better salaries. They have wealth. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/realestate/california-housing-prices.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/realestate/california-hou... [1] https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/how-much-house-can-i-afford/calculate-affordability https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/how-much-house-can-i-af... [2] https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/ https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-state-calculator/