I'm not having some rando living with my 2 kids. I would rent out a basement apartment though. |
Not OP and I hear you but we can all have compassion for OP, it is the same across the board. In 2 years the 1.2 M house became 1.6 or 1.7. And the 500k house became a 650/700k one. And double interest rates. When for some reason you where almost ready to buy in 2019-2020 but could t yet and missed the boat during those 2 years, it feels super hard and unfair. OP I am a slightly better position because i own my starter home, but I feel depressed too as I was looking to upgrade now that my kids are bigger… and yes the 1.2 M dollar home that I wanted to stretch for and get is now completely out of reach and I need to reset expectations (not moving, turning garage into a bedroom…) |
this exactly - we are looking at a much lower price point than OP - but we've also pretty much been priced out. we are now looking at much smaller/older/fixer upper homes. But yes its depressing when I see what we could've afforded just a couple years ago. |
This must be quite the unicorn area that you're looking in that saw a 40%+ rise in real estate value between 2021 and 2023. The stats don't back you up on this. |
... with an unrealistic expectation of where she "deserves" to be able to buy a house. |
OP’s heartache is valid and I am sure lots of people at different price points share her sentiment. We bought a 1.3 mil house in McLean in May/2019, DH was dragging his feet but I stayed the course. If we had missed that opportunity, there’s no way we could have bought the same property.
We are 2.75% on 1.3mil which is now estimated at 1.65 mil. 1.65 mil at 6.5% would have been impossible for us, I truly feel bad for first time home buyers. Rates stayed low for too long and that caused the current inventory hell. |
Moral of the story: buy at $900K when interest rates are 3%, even if you’re dreaming to get into the $1.2m house. But what you can afford as soon as possible. The equity gains will compound any increases in your salary. Trying to save income alone isn’t enough because prices generally are also going up and it’s difficult to stay ahead of the price increases. |
This is just nonsense. |
I feel your pain OP. I have had to keep raising my budget and could kick myself for not having that budget when rates were lower. |
I get it, OP. We have been trying to move from our downtown row home where we've raised two kids and owned for 20 years. Even with significant equity and a windfall from a parent who passed away, a new house may not be attainable. I am trying to practice gratitude for what we have. I say that realizing I have done a bad job of that, every week dragging kids to open houses we can't afford, the grass is always greener, etc.
this am my 13 year old casually mentioned when she grows up she wants to make more money so her family can have nicer things. It broke my heart. My parents were immigrants and sacrificed all for me and my brother. We had excellent educations. But my values drew me to journalism and now nonprofits. Same for my husband, except for the immigrant background. I feel like I have taught them to value the wrong things. Like telling them not to obsess about body weight while complaining about my weight. I vowed this am to do a better job. There is a difference between wants and needs. If we always insist on more, bigger, more expensive and prestigious, we will never win. |
There is a 3000 sq foot house in my Bethesda neighborhood that borders DC listed at $1.06m. 4 BR, 4.5 BA, 2 car garage. It's not new, and certainly a little quirky, but perfectly fine. Point being, OP *can* buy a house in a neighborhood with good schools. Those houses aren't her dream houses, though. Her primary consideration isn't getting on the property ladder, it's living a certain lifestyle. That's why so many people have so little sympathy for you, OP. You can definitely live an UMC life, and you're still whining about it. |
+1000 |
but will there be equity gains now that are as significant as the last few years? If I buy now - I feel like I'm buying at the top of the market - which may not go down but I doubt will go up as significantly as it has. its easy to look back and say yeah - should've bought that 900k home a couple years ago - but what do we do right now. |
This. If prices stayed level, it would be a bad idea to buy a place they didn't really want only to move in less than 5 years. |
DP here, of course it's the top of the market right now. Most neighborhoods will see price declines. |