How do we end Montgomery County socialism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

Homes are expensive where people have money and cheap where people are broke. You want Montgomery County to be a place where people are broke. I don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

Homes are expensive where people have money and cheap where people are broke. You want Montgomery County to be a place where people are broke. I don't.

I want Montgomery County to be a place where my children can afford to, and want to, live. You don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

You actually want your kids to live in a place where there is job growth. (With job growth begets the virtuous cycle of small business growth, solid public schools and upward mobility). MoCo hasn’t been that for at least 15 years. (I.e job growth).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

Homes are expensive where people have money and cheap where people are broke. You want Montgomery County to be a place where people are broke. I don't.

I want Montgomery County to be a place where my children can afford to, and want to, live. You don't.

You should then want Montgomery County to produce high quality jobs so that they can afford to live here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

You are barking up the wrong tree and clearly lack the necessary orientation to understand the problem which leads you to the wrong solution. What you propose is a negative feedback loop that will lead this county to poverty. More housing for poor people leads to more poor people. That does nothing to help anyone.

"Affordability" has a numerator and denominator. You are only focused on the numerator, which is just dumb. The rest of the region are focusing on the denominator and that is why we are being left behind.

According to the Planning Department, the rental vacancy rate is at a 17 year high.

https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/MP_TrendsReport_final.pdf

Furthermore, recently published research has shown that the reason young people cannot afford homes today is due to student loans.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094119020300693?dgcid=rss_sd_all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

If you wanted your home to appreciate at the same rate as inflation, you should have rented because otherwise you would have lost money due to interest, taxes and carrying costs. It would have been a bad investment.

If you are so concerned with your "unearned windfall", then sell your house and donate the proceeds to charity. There is not another person who sees their home equity as "unearned windfall" after paying 20+ years of mortgage interest.

If you would have taken your money and put in in an S&P500 index fund instead, that investment would have far done better than real estate in Montgomery County. Should "unearned" stock market gains be considered unfair? Is it unfair that in 1999 the S&P500 was under 1500 and today it is over 4300?

You lack a coherent point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

Do you mind if I ask why you believe you have an "unearned windfall"? Are you incorporating all of your costs into your analysis? There is obviously interest, which was rather high 22 years ago - I know from personal experience. Did you refinance and any time, have you included those costs into the total cost of ownership? Aside from principal and interest, you were also paying paying taxes and insurance. I would hope that you conducted maintenance? Did you also do any renovations? I cannot imagine that you have 22+ year old kitchens and bathrooms. Plus, you cannot just buy and sell your home without transaction costs. You had closing costs when purchasing and you will pay costs up to 10% of the home value just to sell it, when you include commissions, transfer taxes, concessions, staging, repairs, etc.
I really do not get the sense that you are taking all of this into consideration at all and if you did, I would be surprised if you actually came out ahead financially.

I think it is also important to understand that real estate is still a speculative investment. No one is guaranteed a return and the idea that it is a riskless asset is what caused the financial crisis. No average homeowner that loses money on real estate, and I know a few, gets a government bailout.

I would also just say that while I understand the sentiment, the evidence is pretty convincing that homeownership is a bad deal. I read a very convincing article recently about this in the New York Times. I will post the link if I can find it. If there was advice that I could give a young person, it would be to rent instead and invest the difference in the stock market. They will be much, much better off in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

Do you mind if I ask why you believe you have an "unearned windfall"? Are you incorporating all of your costs into your analysis? There is obviously interest, which was rather high 22 years ago - I know from personal experience. Did you refinance and any time, have you included those costs into the total cost of ownership? Aside from principal and interest, you were also paying paying taxes and insurance. I would hope that you conducted maintenance? Did you also do any renovations? I cannot imagine that you have 22+ year old kitchens and bathrooms. Plus, you cannot just buy and sell your home without transaction costs. You had closing costs when purchasing and you will pay costs up to 10% of the home value just to sell it, when you include commissions, transfer taxes, concessions, staging, repairs, etc.
I really do not get the sense that you are taking all of this into consideration at all and if you did, I would be surprised if you actually came out ahead financially.

I think it is also important to understand that real estate is still a speculative investment. No one is guaranteed a return and the idea that it is a riskless asset is what caused the financial crisis. No average homeowner that loses money on real estate, and I know a few, gets a government bailout.

I would also just say that while I understand the sentiment, the evidence is pretty convincing that homeownership is a bad deal. I read a very convincing article recently about this in the New York Times. I will post the link if I can find it. If there was advice that I could give a young person, it would be to rent instead and invest the difference in the stock market. They will be much, much better off in the end.

I'm the PP you're responding to, and yes, we have 22+ year old kitchens and bathrooms. Why can't you imagine this?

Homeownership should be a bad investment, but that's not how we've set it up in the US, currently. At least not for some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's incredible to me that Montgomery County has the second lowest median housing costs in the region after PG County and they want to make it cheaper. Like what? There is a reason why housing in PG County is cheap. And there is a reason why it is more expensive in Arlington and Fairfax. These people don't have a clue. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am not optimistic.

And yet homeownership is increasingly unaffordable for young people, which seems like a problem.

And half of renting households spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, which also seems like a problem.

High housing costs are great for people who currently own and will want to sell soon, and for landlords without much debt. And maybe for realtors. Other than that, high housing costs are not a good thing.

It is no ones problem but your own if you don't have the means to afford to buy a house. Your own mismanagement of your personal financial situation is no ones responsibility but your own. Housing costs in the county are "low" regionally, so even your complaint is off-base and unfounded. The best way for people to afford a home is to make more income. What are you personally doing to increase your income potential? What is the county doing to increase the number of high paying jobs? The alternative path is a negative feedback loop of cheaper housing -> poorer people -> cheaper housing -> poorer people which is what makes this county overall poorer and not richer.

A third of households in Montgomery County are renters.

I own my home, why? Because I bought it 22 years ago when I moved here for a job. If the value had appreciated at the same rate as inflation, it would now be worth about 55% more. Instead, it's now worth about 225% more. That appreciation is not due to my stellar personal financial management skills. It's just a giant unearned windfall for me.

If I were in exactly the same situation now as I was 22 years ago, I would not be able to afford my home today. At best, I'd be renting. More likely, I wouldn't take the job and wouldn't move here. Multiply that by a lot of other young people with skills, and it doesn't look so good for the future of Montgomery County.

Do you mind if I ask why you believe you have an "unearned windfall"? Are you incorporating all of your costs into your analysis? There is obviously interest, which was rather high 22 years ago - I know from personal experience. Did you refinance and any time, have you included those costs into the total cost of ownership? Aside from principal and interest, you were also paying paying taxes and insurance. I would hope that you conducted maintenance? Did you also do any renovations? I cannot imagine that you have 22+ year old kitchens and bathrooms. Plus, you cannot just buy and sell your home without transaction costs. You had closing costs when purchasing and you will pay costs up to 10% of the home value just to sell it, when you include commissions, transfer taxes, concessions, staging, repairs, etc.
I really do not get the sense that you are taking all of this into consideration at all and if you did, I would be surprised if you actually came out ahead financially.

I think it is also important to understand that real estate is still a speculative investment. No one is guaranteed a return and the idea that it is a riskless asset is what caused the financial crisis. No average homeowner that loses money on real estate, and I know a few, gets a government bailout.

I would also just say that while I understand the sentiment, the evidence is pretty convincing that homeownership is a bad deal. I read a very convincing article recently about this in the New York Times. I will post the link if I can find it. If there was advice that I could give a young person, it would be to rent instead and invest the difference in the stock market. They will be much, much better off in the end.

I'm the PP you're responding to, and yes, we have 22+ year old kitchens and bathrooms. Why can't you imagine this?

Homeownership should be a bad investment, but that's not how we've set it up in the US, currently. At least not for some people.

If you have 22 year old kitchens and bathrooms, then your home is probably not as valuable as you think. Have you looked into costing out your total return before assuming that you someone are making out like a bandit?

[Anonymous]

DCUM, where every random poster believes they know more about someone else's individual circumstances than that person...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCUM, where every random poster believes they know more about someone else's individual circumstances than that person...

If I understand correctly, you think your personal circumstance should be the basis for sweeping government policies changes that affect everyone? That's the most DCUM thing ever.

You also are clearly not being forthright in your statements. If you bought 22 years ago and did not buy new build, then you kitchens and baths would be older than 22 years old. You also seem to know enough to discount for inflation, but also think that saying you had a 225% increase in the nominal price of your house is extremely important enough to change government policy, without bothering to factor in interest, taxes, insurance or maintenance?

Just to demonstrate how ridiculous your proposition of "unearned windfall" is, the average mortgage interest rate 22 years about was 7%. If you did not refinance, you would have paid >100% of your principal on mortgage interest in 22 years. Now add that to inflation and where is the "unearned windfall"?

C'mon man. You are going to have to do better than that.

[Anonymous]

In terms of practical solutions, we need a ballot amendment for open primaries. There are a lot of moderate independents in MoCo who would vote for moderate Dems I'm the primary if allowed to do so.