If you were born in 1990, how do you plan on ever affording a house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Millenial here. I do think many millenials are big whiners and complainers. I putchased a home in Sterling Virginia. My husband commuted each day to Crystal City at the ass crack of dawn. I went into tysons. It took a good year until each of us could find good jobs closer to home in Reston and Herndon.

Most millenials would scoff at the idea of living outside the beltway in a less than perfect home. Weve built up equity and moved up into a nicer, laeger home with better schools. Were happy and are building wealth with a mortgage lower than going rents.

Sprry folks, you just wont be able to stay on Arlington. There's no vintage craftsman in your future.

Sure there is. I'm sitting in my vintage arlington home right now. Who's living across the street? Millenials. Down the street? You guessed it. Millenials.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I think there is one bitter poster on here that keeps discarding people's well thought out, practical plan for sacrificing and saving for a reasonable home.
I certainly hope they are not representative of all millenials and that some people are reading and getting valid tips.
These posts are usually about "how can I buy a nice home right now" when the question is "how can I start to prepare right now to eventually buy a nice home in 10 years"

It's not 1 person. There is a huge paradigm shift taking place in this country right now and it is in effect shrinking the middle class. These posts are comimg up more frequently and the despair felt by millenials who worked hard and made all the right moves are seeing their prospects becoming worse with each passing year. We are the 1st generation be financially worse off than our parents. I'm an older millenial and feel fortunate to have already secured my forever home but only bc we were gifted half the downpayment as part of an unexpected inheritance. This is not everyones circumstance and the current policies favor further erosion of the middle class. Why does stating the crappy prospects get to you so much? Stop drinking from the Bob Boomer punchbowl.

No, there are $200k homes out there that aren't good enough for your generation, that we all started out in and yes, commuted like hell, to get to a point where we could move up and closer in when we were older.
You want to live in a dense urban area, in a hot market, with a short commute in your 20's and despite post after post telling you this is how most people EVENTUALLY get into a nice home, someone actually stated here that unless you make $200k you can't buy a home. Which is bullshit.

$200k homes? Are you looking in West Virginia? And pretend that is equivalent to your 90s commute from Vienna? You are daft. I am glad you made money on your home since your menta capacity for earned income is diminished.

Mannassas. We commuted from there to D.C. for years. And try townhomes or condos. Or are you actually insisting on a SFH for your starter home? There's your entitlement showing

And which years were these? Because traffic along 66 continues to get worse. It could easily be 90 min - 2 hours one way to commute to D.C. From Manassass during rush hour.

We took public transportation. You think we had 2 cars? This keeps getting better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Millenial here. I do think many millenials are big whiners and complainers. I putchased a home in Sterling Virginia. My husband commuted each day to Crystal City at the ass crack of dawn. I went into tysons. It took a good year until each of us could find good jobs closer to home in Reston and Herndon.

Most millenials would scoff at the idea of living outside the beltway in a less than perfect home. Weve built up equity and moved up into a nicer, laeger home with better schools. Were happy and are building wealth with a mortgage lower than going rents.

Sprry folks, you just wont be able to stay on Arlington. There's no vintage craftsman in your future.

Sure there is. I'm sitting in my vintage arlington home right now. Who's living across the street? Millenials. Down the street? You guessed it. Millenials.

Ok then ehy are they complaing for 17 pages and counting? Clearly they are all rich and money ain"t a thang

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is one bitter poster on here that keeps discarding people's well thought out, practical plan for sacrificing and saving for a reasonable home.
I certainly hope they are not representative of all millenials and that some people are reading and getting valid tips.
These posts are usually about "how can I buy a nice home right now" when the question is "how can I start to prepare right now to eventually buy a nice home in 10 years"

It's not 1 person. There is a huge paradigm shift taking place in this country right now and it is in effect shrinking the middle class. These posts are comimg up more frequently and the despair felt by millenials who worked hard and made all the right moves are seeing their prospects becoming worse with each passing year. We are the 1st generation be financially worse off than our parents. I'm an older millenial and feel fortunate to have already secured my forever home but only bc we were gifted half the downpayment as part of an unexpected inheritance. This is not everyones circumstance and the current policies favor further erosion of the middle class. Why does stating the crappy prospects get to you so much? Stop drinking from the Bob Boomer punchbowl.

No, there are $200k homes out there that aren't good enough for your generation, that we all started out in and yes, commuted like hell, to get to a point where we could move up and closer in when we were older.
You want to live in a dense urban area, in a hot market, with a short commute in your 20's and despite post after post telling you this is how most people EVENTUALLY get into a nice home, someone actually stated here that unless you make $200k you can't buy a home. Which is bullshit.

$200k homes? Are you looking in West Virginia? And pretend that is equivalent to your 90s commute from Vienna? You are daft. I am glad you made money on your home since your menta capacity for earned income is diminished.

Mannassas. We commuted from there to D.C. for years. And try townhomes or condos. Or are you actually insisting on a SFH for your starter home? There's your entitlement showing

Why not just move to Alabama then? If youre living so far into a rural area, in a freaking townhouse... I mean, what's the point? Can you even claim to be living in DC? I don't think so.

Soooo you won't own a home because your wants are greater than you can afford. Simple. But don't say you can't afford a home. You can't afford the home you want. Big difference. Join the club!

But it's not even about not being able to afford what we want. Most people can't afford what they want. It's that the location of these 200k starter homes that millenials should be flavoring to buy (or else they are HGTV-loving snowflakes) are in locations that are essentially barely a part of the DMV. You lose the benefit of being anywhere near jobs or transit, and these exurbs have not held their value during economic downturns the way other areas have that the pro-gentrification crowd brags about making so much money off of in order the afford their next home.

At this point, many millenials are better off renting or moving to a different city. Which many will. But it doesn't mean they aren't allowed to be disappointed at the growing income disparity and lack of high paying job prospects. I know boomers with HS degrees who started at the bottom and worked their way up in major companies. But now, a HS degree will never allow for that and many entry positions have been replaced by technology. You now need a college and likely a grad degree ($$$) to have even a shot at the economic prospects older generations had.

Get your head out of the sand if you really think millenials are not facing an entirely different economy than our country has seen before.
And

I don't think boomers like hearing this or offering compassion because it ruins the "I DESERVE this because I EARNED it, they don't have it simply because they didn't work as hard" narrative.

It's a lot harder to feel pride over your lovely, highly-appreciated house when you realize that a lot of the reason you were able to get said house was a quirk of being born at the right time. It's a lot easier just to call millennials lazy or "too demanding" and ignore the statistics of what is happening on a nationwide-scale to the housing market

Yes, this is so true! ^^^

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most prices in the metro area are still below where they were in 2005.

This is true. Check the tax records . Prices in almost all metro areas at or below 2005 levels and mortgage rates were 6.25 percent. Almost 50 percent higher than today .

[Anonymous]

^^^ yep. Just checked. A tear down in glenbrook village Bethesda was 6-700 k in 2005 and rates were 6.25 percent.
Tear down today 670 k and rates are 4.25.

And that's a hot neighborhood. 90 percent of metro neighborhoods are below and some significantly below 2005. Potomac mansions that were 2.7 million in 2005 are 1.7 million now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, meant which part is NOT relevant to someone born in 1990?

You're totally glossing over price levels and wages, especially for lowly ranked schools.

Nope. Stop the whining. We worked our butts off, started at the bottom career wise, and house wise, lived in crappy apartments and an awful fixer upper arhat we never really fixed up and played the long game. I'm 39, not a dinosaur.

Uh, to someone born in '90, yes, a dinosaur. The circumstances of the world sure as hell change in over a decade.

Yeah I'm 33 but baby brother is 23. Everything will be massively more expensive for him and I feel for the other kids in this age group.

I'm sorry, I don't get this. I graduated from college in 1991. After getting my Master's Degree, I made a whopping $15K a year. Houses were $150-$200K in bad neighborhoods. That might as well have been $3M. Felt the same as you feel now. People were buying in PG County then b/c it was much cheaper, just like it is now. It's all relative.

What did you major in? All the kids I know are majoring in practical fields ie comp sci, finance, pre med or dental, engineering. If you major in something thats hard and youre compensated well - it should be a stepping stone towards a decent middle class life.

I majored in economics with a master's in public policy. I worked on Capitol Hill. Not unusual. It paid off. I later went to law school. The point is that I made no money and I didn't have anyone to buy a house for me or bail me out. I had to make the sacrifices to do it myself. There was no golden era in DC.

An econ grad who worked on the Hill and here totally glosses over the variability in circumstance and its impact on peoples' ability to buy a house? Unintentionally demonstrates the role of luck in these things.

What luck? I don't have rich parents. Do you know what it was like to make $15K a year with no parental help? Even in 1993? I had 5 roommates and sucked it up. I went to law school. I still have $100K in law school debt. When I bought my first house, my parents couldn't help. I bought it in Brookland, which was the equivalent to Anacostia at the time. Not really a popular place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most prices in the metro area are still below where they were in 2005.

This is true. Check the tax records . Prices in almost all metro areas at or below 2005 levels and mortgage rates were 6.25 percent. Almost 50 percent higher than today .

That's because:
a) 2005 was a bubble
b) government policy since has been to keep prices as high as possible-hence the lower interest rates (quick finance: lower interest rates=higher prices)

Keeping housing prices high has been a constraint on the broader economy, causing a more challenging job market.

Context matters a lot with this stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, meant which part is NOT relevant to someone born in 1990?

You're totally glossing over price levels and wages, especially for lowly ranked schools.

Nope. Stop the whining. We worked our butts off, started at the bottom career wise, and house wise, lived in crappy apartments and an awful fixer upper arhat we never really fixed up and played the long game. I'm 39, not a dinosaur.

Uh, to someone born in '90, yes, a dinosaur. The circumstances of the world sure as hell change in over a decade.

Yeah I'm 33 but baby brother is 23. Everything will be massively more expensive for him and I feel for the other kids in this age group.

I'm sorry, I don't get this. I graduated from college in 1991. After getting my Master's Degree, I made a whopping $15K a year. Houses were $150-$200K in bad neighborhoods. That might as well have been $3M. Felt the same as you feel now. People were buying in PG County then b/c it was much cheaper, just like it is now. It's all relative.

What did you major in? All the kids I know are majoring in practical fields ie comp sci, finance, pre med or dental, engineering. If you major in something thats hard and youre compensated well - it should be a stepping stone towards a decent middle class life.

I majored in economics with a master's in public policy. I worked on Capitol Hill. Not unusual. It paid off. I later went to law school. The point is that I made no money and I didn't have anyone to buy a house for me or bail me out. I had to make the sacrifices to do it myself. There was no golden era in DC.

An econ grad who worked on the Hill and here totally glosses over the variability in circumstance and its impact on peoples' ability to buy a house? Unintentionally demonstrates the role of luck in these things.

What luck? I don't have rich parents. Do you know what it was like to make $15K a year with no parental help? Even in 1993? I had 5 roommates and sucked it up. I went to law school. I still have $100K in law school debt. When I bought my first house, my parents couldn't help. I bought it in Brookland, which was the equivalent to Anacostia at the time. Not really a popular place.

Having an economics degree and being involved in legislation and still being blind to the role circumstance play does not make you look like a sharp tack. That you came back and doubled down makes you look even denser. When clueless folks have things work out for them, they always think it's to their credit. Lol.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, what a bunch of crybabies.

When I graduated from school, mortgage interest rates were around 17 percent. So I got a roommate and just rented an apartment. When I bought my first house at age 30, the rates were 13 percent. I bought a simple, 3 bedroom 2bath house in a very working class neighborhood in the South. Fixed it up, held onto it until in tripled in value, then moved to an even lower cost area for my 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with lake access. I was 45.

We boomers bought small, waited, and moved up as the economy allowed.

Millennials want everything NOW and they want it to be HGTV perfect, with the perfect school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ yep. Just checked. A tear down in glenbrook village Bethesda was 6-700 k in 2005 and rates were 6.25 percent.
Tear down today 670 k and rates are 4.25.

And that's a hot neighborhood. 90 percent of metro neighborhoods are below and some significantly below 2005. Potomac mansions that were 2.7 million in 2005 are 1.7 million now.

Potomac mansions (McMansions, let's be honest, they were invented in Potomac) are now acknowledged to having higher carrying costs, including high energy/utility bills and much worse commutes (as in its harder to make/bill the necessary $$$).

And let's not forget, those places make you look like a fashion victim from past decades. Yuck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Gosh, what a bunch of crybabies.

When I graduated from school, mortgage interest rates were around 17 percent. So I got a roommate and just rented an apartment. When I bought my first house at age 30, the rates were 13 percent. I bought a simple, 3 bedroom 2bath house in a very working class neighborhood in the South. Fixed it up, held onto it until in tripled in value, then moved to an even lower cost area for my 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with lake access. I was 45.

We boomers bought small, waited, and moved up as the economy allowed.

Millennials want everything NOW and they want it to be HGTV perfect, with the perfect school district.

And they want avocado turkey Breast sandwiches with chai lemon iced tea and a chop salad for lunch . Netflix and Rock climbing gym with unlimited data plan with a hybrid engine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ yep. Just checked. A tear down in glenbrook village Bethesda was 6-700 k in 2005 and rates were 6.25 percent.
Tear down today 670 k and rates are 4.25.

And that's a hot neighborhood. 90 percent of metro neighborhoods are below and some significantly below 2005. Potomac mansions that were 2.7 million in 2005 are 1.7 million now.

Potomac mansions (McMansions, let's be honest, they were invented in Potomac) are now acknowledged to having higher carrying costs, including high energy/utility bills and much worse commutes (as in its harder to make/bill the necessary $$$).

And let's not forget, those places make you look like a fashion victim from past decades. Yuck!

Close in expensive areas were the same price in 2005 and interest rates were 50 percent higher.

End of story. That was 12 years ago and a different generation was far less butthurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Gosh, what a bunch of crybabies.

When I graduated from school, mortgage interest rates were around 17 percent. So I got a roommate and just rented an apartment. When I bought my first house at age 30, the rates were 13 percent. I bought a simple, 3 bedroom 2bath house in a very working class neighborhood in the South. Fixed it up, held onto it until in tripled in value, then moved to an even lower cost area for my 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with lake access. I was 45.

We boomers bought small, waited, and moved up as the economy allowed.

Millennials want everything NOW and they want it to be HGTV perfect, with the perfect school district.

And they want avocado turkey Breast sandwiches with chai lemon iced tea and a chop salad for lunch . Netflix and Rock climbing gym with unlimited data plan with a hybrid engine.

And baby boomers want their pills cut into their mashed banana with metamucil mixed in. they want extra guard rails around the toilet in their room, and lfor their attendant to let them "win" at chess. Hey I guess everyone can play this game

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Gosh, what a bunch of crybabies.

When I graduated from school, mortgage interest rates were around 17 percent. So I got a roommate and just rented an apartment. When I bought my first house at age 30, the rates were 13 percent. I bought a simple, 3 bedroom 2bath house in a very working class neighborhood in the South. Fixed it up, held onto it until in tripled in value, then moved to an even lower cost area for my 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with lake access. I was 45.

We boomers bought small, waited, and moved up as the economy allowed.

Millennials want everything NOW and they want it to be HGTV perfect, with the perfect school district.

And they want avocado turkey Breast sandwiches with chai lemon iced tea and a chop salad for lunch . Netflix and Rock climbing gym with unlimited data plan with a hybrid engine.

And baby boomers want their pills cut into their mashed banana with metamucil mixed in. they want extra guard rails around the toilet in their room, and lfor their attendant to let them "win" at chess. Hey I guess everyone can play this game

But you are going to need that too. And we did without the finicky expensive habits of milennials.