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To make matters worse, renting often means dealing with annual rental increases. Since the pandemic started my apartment rent has gone up roughly 8% per year,
by linguae 3y ago
To make matters worse, renting often means dealing with annual rental increases. Since the pandemic started my apartment rent has gone up roughly 8% per year, compared to the annual 2-3% raises I get for good performance at work. Some people have to contend with much more dramatic rent increases. Many people end up getting priced out of renting due to rent increases, forcing them to either move further away (which means longer commutes or even switching jobs) or downsize/downgrade, such as living in a smaller space or living with roommates. A fixed-rate mortgage would shield me from rent increases, but the price of a mortgage is substantially higher than market rents on equivalent properties in my area (San Francisco Bay Area), and home ownership has many costs that are not fixed, such as maintenance, HOA dues, property taxes, and insurance.
It's truly sad to see the price of owning or renting a home rising faster than most people's ability to keep pace. There's a major homelessness crisis in California, and one of the causes is very high home prices and rents.
- fragmede 3y agoCalifornia's AB 1482 gets renters some relief, though it may not apply in your case. It limits rent increases to 5% + CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower. If you just happened to have a spare $200k lying around to make a 20% down payment on a million dollar condo in the Bay Area in the low interest rate era, you'd be paying the same as a renter, but fixed, and with equity.
- dragonelite 3y agoPretty much my situation in the Netherlands, my overal costs rise like 6~8% and my pay raises like 2~4%. Im pretty much forced to job hop every 2~3 year to make up and keep up with rising costs of living. That is with me owning my own house i also have a sibling that will most likely end up being a forever renter. His rent has increased so much the past 6~7 years. That he now pays way more in rent then i do for my mortgage like almost €150~200 more in a shittier neighbourhood in the same city.
- ljm 3y agoEver since the dawn of 'trickle down economics', wealth has only continued to be distributed upwards and is becoming increasingly concentrated at the top. This is because the cost of everything except labour has increased, forcing many to try and do more with less. It is completely and utterly unsustainable and I doubt anybody young will ever experience the kind of prosperity that came after WW2. You can't even rely on getting a decent white collar job and climbing up the ladder any more - loyalty is expected from an employer but no longer offered in return.
- ponector 3y agoThat is not true. Cost of everything except housing in high demand cities decreased dramatically during latest few decades. Calculate how many hours should average Joe work to buy 100 gallons of gasoline, to buy a fridge, to buy 100 kg of chicken breast now vs then.
- xboxnolifes 3y agoWell, cost of everything except housing, medical, education, and transportation. Great that chicken breasts are still cheap I guess. Housing outside of cities has also risen considerably.