4 ms·

Translation: Nearly 40% of US homes are mortgage-free (and owned by Boomers)

by lo_fye 3y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
Translation: ~30% of homes have been owned for more than 20 years, and guess what happens at the end of a mortgage and after 20 years of inflation? And guess how much money the top 10% have? Close to $2m counting their house... You'll be old one day, too - believe it or not. The boomers aren't special. They're just old. One day they'll be dead, and you'll be the old person everyone complains about who owns their house and bought if for next to nothing 30 years ago.
- solumunus 3y ago
  The boomers bought these houses for much less (proportional to their income) than people buying today. By quite a large margin. So yes, they’re special in that sense. People today won’t be nearly as well off in 30 years as the boomers were in a comparable timeframe. If current trajectory continues the kids in 30 years will be rioting, not complaining.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
    ~87% of purchases are financed. Back then it was probably higher. Interest rates were >13% when my boomer next-door neighbor bought her house 30+ years ago. Payments weren't much different in tax-adjusted terms than then just a few years ago. ~87% of people are buying a mortgage payment - not the sticker price on the home. Mortgage payments are VERY high right now with respect to interest rates. Not long ago, at the beginning of the pandemic - they were quite low. Either prices will come down - or much more likely - interest rates will go back down or - less likely - incomes will go up (or a combination of the 3). Kids 30 years from now will be complaining. Song as old as time.
- ryandrake 3y ago
  > One day they'll be dead, and you'll be the old person everyone complains about who owns their house and bought if for next to nothing 30 years ago. How are these mythical "young but future homeowners" going to get a house? They're not buying them at today's prices and interest rates. And their Boomer parents are drawing down the equity via reverse mortgages to fund their retirements, so there won't even be equity to inherit when they kick the bucket. My bet is when the Boomers are dead, the only ones left owning homes will be banks and private equity firms, and we'll all be renting from them.
  - jjav 3y ago
    > They're not buying them at today's prices and interest rates. Those boomers may have been buying houses in the late 70s when mortgage interest rates were over 10%, so today's rates would be a bargain. Or for more recent numbers, in the late 90s rates were over 8 (my first mortgage was 8.5%) The point being, current rates seem high only compared to the incredibly low rates of the past decade but they are not particularly high when seen over a longer time window.

Translation: Nearly 40% of US homes are mortgage-free (and owned by Boomers)

by lo_fye 3y ago

Translation: Nearly 40% of US homes are mortgage-free (and owned by Boomers)

Translation: ~30% of homes have been owned for more than 20 years, and guess what happens at the end of a mortgage and after 20 years of inflation? And guess how much money the top 10% have? Close to $2m counting their house... You'll be old one day, too - believe it or not. The boomers aren't special. They're just old. One day they'll be dead, and you'll be the old person everyone complains about who owns their house and bought if for next to nothing 30 years ago.

solumunus 3y ago
The boomers bought these houses for much less (proportional to their income) than people buying today. By quite a large margin. So yes, they’re special in that sense. People today won’t be nearly as well off in 30 years as the boomers were in a comparable timeframe. If current trajectory continues the kids in 30 years will be rioting, not complaining.
- onlyrealcuzzo 3y ago
  ~87% of purchases are financed. Back then it was probably higher. Interest rates were >13% when my boomer next-door neighbor bought her house 30+ years ago. Payments weren't much different in tax-adjusted terms than then just a few years ago. ~87% of people are buying a mortgage payment - not the sticker price on the home. Mortgage payments are VERY high right now with respect to interest rates. Not long ago, at the beginning of the pandemic - they were quite low. Either prices will come down - or much more likely - interest rates will go back down or - less likely - incomes will go up (or a combination of the 3). Kids 30 years from now will be complaining. Song as old as time.
ryandrake 3y ago
> One day they'll be dead, and you'll be the old person everyone complains about who owns their house and bought if for next to nothing 30 years ago. How are these mythical "young but future homeowners" going to get a house? They're not buying them at today's prices and interest rates. And their Boomer parents are drawing down the equity via reverse mortgages to fund their retirements, so there won't even be equity to inherit when they kick the bucket. My bet is when the Boomers are dead, the only ones left owning homes will be banks and private equity firms, and we'll all be renting from them.
- jjav 3y ago
  > They're not buying them at today's prices and interest rates. Those boomers may have been buying houses in the late 70s when mortgage interest rates were over 10%, so today's rates would be a bargain. Or for more recent numbers, in the late 90s rates were over 8 (my first mortgage was 8.5%) The point being, current rates seem high only compared to the incredibly low rates of the past decade but they are not particularly high when seen over a longer time window.