The median Boomer has a housing cost of $612. That includes taxes and insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that the next posh area is just further and further away doesnt seem to phase anyone. The posh area of the boomer generation was arlington. Now our next up and coming posh area is like, manassas. Assuming all parties work in DC, can we agree the commute from manassas is significantly worse than arlington? And by the way the manassas home is $500k and a 1970 build- seems squarely fixer upper category.

This is where the goalposts have changed so much. I responded in this vein above and someone said "there are houses closer, you re just too picky to live in those neighborhoods." That's just...not true! I'm not even talking about posh neighborhoods. You just can't get a 300k house close to DC anymore the way you could even 5 years ago. Commuting 1-2 hours each way IS different than previous generations.

In the 80s my dad commuted 90 mins each way and so did most of the working parents in town. People who wanted a decent house and had middle class incomes moved way out even back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tons of decent homes in the 250k-400k range within spitting distance of DC.

https://www.redfin.com/city/3383/MD/Capitol-Heights

But that isn't what Brayden and Eva want because it isn't fancy enough. So they think people like me should not only move, but cut them a deal on the sale. Because.

Kids are brats.

"Brayden" and Eva" are passing on those 250K homes in crime filled neighborhoods that white boomers fled in the 50s to flee from brown people.

This is why we should hold a boomer “homecoming” aka send the boomers to nursing homes back in the communities they fled. Housing and equity problems solved.

You mean like the movie "Soylent Green"? You don't have to rent the movie; just look for the Simpsons' version, with Lisa Simpson the hero.

Boomer here: Breaking news: I'm gonna die soon. Before I ever set foot in a nursing home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m GenX and don’t understand why boomers are hanging onto their SFH. Once DH and I retire which will align with our youngest starting grad school we are headed to a condo. I can’t wait to be done with home and yard maintenance! I can’t wait to move back into a city and not care about school ratings! We will pay for our kids to stay in a hotel a block or two away if they both come to visit at the same time or we”LL meet them somewhere else and do a hotel for all of us.

You do you. I’m recently retired GenX and I love gardening and yard work. In fact we’re looking for a larger home to have room a bigger garden and hobbies. But in general it’s never one size fits all.

DS you retire before 65? I thought the oldest GenX people had not hit 65 yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that the next posh area is just further and further away doesnt seem to phase anyone. The posh area of the boomer generation was arlington. Now our next up and coming posh area is like, manassas. Assuming all parties work in DC, can we agree the commute from manassas is significantly worse than arlington? And by the way the manassas home is $500k and a 1970 build- seems squarely fixer upper category.

This is where the goalposts have changed so much. I responded in this vein above and someone said "there are houses closer, you re just too picky to live in those neighborhoods." That's just...not true! I'm not even talking about posh neighborhoods. You just can't get a 300k house close to DC anymore the way you could even 5 years ago. Commuting 1-2 hours each way IS different than previous generations.

Not really. DH grew up on Long Island in the 80s. His father commuted an hour one way into NYC from a middle class neighborhood. His dad was also in the naval reserves to help pay the bills. How many young people are doing something like that???

[Anonymous]

I’m Gen x and 50! Some
Millennials are over 40 now. I posted earlier about my silent generation mom finally selling in Buffalo, NY. Yes it’s hard to move after 48 years in the same house. The place she moved isn’t cheap. I feel fortunate that she can afford, after the sale of the home, to move to a safe, smaller place. All in it is more expensive than staying in the home which she bought with my father in 1975 at 14% interest rate! The over 65 retirement home is very expensive. Places like it here would be triple the cost maybe more! I don’t know what the solution is but it sure isn’t just blaming old folks. Housing costs in the DMV are out of control and continue to rise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. It is a combination of factors:
1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago
2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.
3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago

Accurate. There is plenty of economic data to back this up.

2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.

See #1 above. Housing costs more relative to income than it used to. That dilapidated group house now takes up an even huger percentage of your income than it used to, so yeah people are going to complain that they’re spending 4-5x their annual income to buy a dump vs 2x their annual income to buy a dump (leaving some $ leftover to fix it up or save up to move). Also, it’s depressing to go to grad school and get a decent job and your options are are old, expensive dumps that used to be workforce housing for people with HS degrees. Again, see #1. And it trickles down so the people today with just a HS degree are renting dumps with no hope of buying and moving their way up.

I know this b/c my parents had only HS degrees and were able to eventually move up to the nice new construction home while having a SAHP, which just isn’t happening in today’s economy.

3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

Yeah this is admittedly part of it. Tastes change. Boomers built up car dependent sprawl and that just isn’t desirable today. Gas prices are higher and we’re realizing how unhealthy the long haul commuter lifestyle is. Also, commuting was easier with the ability to have one parent SAH. So the rise in dual income families makes that non-walkable, long commute neighborhood a greater hardship than it was when it was shiny and new to the boomers (not to mention more expensive, see #1 above).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. It is a combination of factors:
1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago
2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.
3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

No, the first PP had it. You're just rewording what was already said but in more words. Champagne tastes, beer budget. 20 yr olds starting out have never had it all. This is a spoiled generation used to having it all, right away, no delayed gratification and it's a harsh adjustment. But they will be fine.

More like the housing market has beer tastes on a champagne budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that the next posh area is just further and further away doesnt seem to phase anyone. The posh area of the boomer generation was arlington. Now our next up and coming posh area is like, manassas. Assuming all parties work in DC, can we agree the commute from manassas is significantly worse than arlington? And by the way the manassas home is $500k and a 1970 build- seems squarely fixer upper category.

This is where the goalposts have changed so much. I responded in this vein above and someone said "there are houses closer, you re just too picky to live in those neighborhoods." That's just...not true! I'm not even talking about posh neighborhoods. You just can't get a 300k house close to DC anymore the way you could even 5 years ago. Commuting 1-2 hours each way IS different than previous generations.

In the 80s my dad commuted 90 mins each way and so did most of the working parents in town. People who wanted a decent house and had middle class incomes moved way out even back then.

How far did your mom commute?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. It is a combination of factors:
1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago
2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.
3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

No, the first PP had it. You're just rewording what was already said but in more words. Champagne tastes, beer budget. 20 yr olds starting out have never had it all. This is a spoiled generation used to having it all, right away, no delayed gratification and it's a harsh adjustment. But they will be fine.

More like the housing market has beer tastes on a champagne budget.

So there are no fixer uppers? What zip code are you looking at I'm sure people can help you find the diamonds in the rough. But you want it all, right now, no waiting. Just own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

Wrong, millennials literally just want the opportunity to sacrifice the way our parents and grandparents did. I'd KILL to scrimp and save and never eat out to afford a modest starter home like my parents had, because that "modest starter home" that was a "sacrifice" to them costs $1.5MM today.

I cannot even fathom the utter ignorance and arrogance required to say "millennials don't want to sacrifice to afford a first home" when for Millennials "sacrificing" means choosing between a 2-3 hour daily commute or living in a warzone when for the person deriding them "sacrifice" meant a nice house in a safe area with a decent commute but oh no it's not a mansion in McLean!

BS. That is complete BS. You are full of shit, $1.5MM. Are you the same person who keeps massively overstating the cost of houses just to troll?

You're not getting it. The only houses these people will actually consider living in DO cost $1.5M.

That's the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m GenX and don’t understand why boomers are hanging onto their SFH. Once DH and I retire which will align with our youngest starting grad school we are headed to a condo. I can’t wait to be done with home and yard maintenance! I can’t wait to move back into a city and not care about school ratings! We will pay for our kids to stay in a hotel a block or two away if they both come to visit at the same time or we”LL meet them somewhere else and do a hotel for all of us.

You do you. I’m recently retired GenX and I love gardening and yard work. In fact we’re looking for a larger home to have room a bigger garden and hobbies. But in general it’s never one size fits all.

I’m GenX not retired yet but we are right there with you. We have zero desire to live in the city ever again. We love our privacy and green space in our nice boring suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m GenX and don’t understand why boomers are hanging onto their SFH. Once DH and I retire which will align with our youngest starting grad school we are headed to a condo. I can’t wait to be done with home and yard maintenance! I can’t wait to move back into a city and not care about school ratings! We will pay for our kids to stay in a hotel a block or two away if they both come to visit at the same time or we”LL meet them somewhere else and do a hotel for all of us.

You do you. I’m recently retired GenX and I love gardening and yard work. In fact we’re looking for a larger home to have room a bigger garden and hobbies. But in general it’s never one size fits all.

DS you retire before 65? I thought the oldest GenX people had not hit 65 yet.

Agree. I am one of the older GenX’s and I’m not yet 60. But kudos to PP if they retired early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. It is a combination of factors:
1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago
2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.
3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

No, the first PP had it. You're just rewording what was already said but in more words. Champagne tastes, beer budget. 20 yr olds starting out have never had it all. This is a spoiled generation used to having it all, right away, no delayed gratification and it's a harsh adjustment. But they will be fine.

More like the housing market has beer tastes on a champagne budget.

So there are no fixer uppers? What zip code are you looking at I'm sure people can help you find the diamonds in the rough. But you want it all, right now, no waiting. Just own it.

Cute guess, but wrong. I did buy a N Arlington fixer upper pre-COVID. If I wanted to do that today my house would be over 300k more and labor/renovation costs have gone up.

So I do have all that I want and I have it right now. But I have empathy for the people coming up behind me that have fewer opportunities to buy. Increasingly the fixers are getting sold to developers or cash buyers and turned into giant new homes. There just isn’t an endless supply of fixer uppers in the wings for Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

All you have are personal attacks and a complete delusional grasp on economic statistics regarding the housing market, no empathy. Sorry not all of us are “I got mine, if you want yours you are just a whiner.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some, not all, millennials want that perfect, large house right out of the gate. The kitchen is dated? Lazy boomers! Also, hard pass.

More realistic is to start small (condo or starter house) and move up the property ladder.

Then find a forever home that’s a fixer-upper and fix up the necessary things but don’t buy into all the marketing and real estate bs about how you need the perfect kitchen before you move in.

We fixed up a house with two small kids and both of us working full time. Now we have an objectively “nice” house with lots of memories. I’m not going to downsize into a more expensive, smaller place just because OP is afraid of a little elbow grease.

+1

Tale end of the Boomer generation here. Lived in a one bedroom, basement apartment in crummy neighborhood with 2 roommates right out of college for several years to save money to go to grad school.

After grad school, DH and I saved until we could afford to buy into a tenancy in common that we then converted to 2 condos with our co-owners. Took a huge risk on a charming but very dated flat in a supposedly up and coming neighborhood. Interest rate for mortgage was 8%. When sold, made strong profit thanks to the fact that a condo was more valuable than a TIC.

Moved to 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in a very desirable neighborhood that needed significant work. Lived in house for almost 20 years before replacing old kitchen with an Ikea kitchen. Bathrooms still need to be remodeled. Raised 3 kids in the house who are now out of college. House, or more precisely, the lot the house is on, is now worth at least 3 times what we paid for it.

Meanwhile I watch my nieces and nephews in their late 20s, as well as my own children to a certain extent, complain about how they will never be able to afford a house. Yet they rent in expensive neighborhoods, generally don't have roommates, eat dinner out almost every night, take expensive vacations, buy expensive clothes and yes, drink those $$$ lattes.

Sorry OP but DH and I took took risks and sacrificed all these years to reach the point and we have no plans to downsize.

This is our story, too. We really did it with not a great amount of income and high mortgage rates. I don't get all the whining .

Its so crazy to me how everyone is willfully ignoring that home prices have risen significantly faster than incomes have. Your income and savings back when you bought your home worked, but if you were born 12 years ago, it wouldnt. Maybe your point is - that sucks, move even further out. But a lot of millenials dont want to live out in deep in the suburbs and commute 1+ hour a day. And yes people spend money on toast and lattes- and that is $20. In a year thats like $1200. Its not exactly needle moving. Why is that so hard to understand?

So, to summarize:
1) millennials don’t want to sacrifice the way their parents and grandparents did;
2) millennials want to own nice houses in close-in neighborhoods AND eat cake, well toast, too; and,
3) millennials don’t understand why their parents and grandparents don’t understand.

I don't think it's nearly as straightforward as this. It is a combination of factors:
1) Housing DOES cost more relative to wages than it did 40 years ago
2) Younger Millennials/Gen Z DON'T want to live in the kind of crummy housing that Boomers/GenX lived in at the beginning of their career. Think shared dilapidated group house/aparment in a crummy neighborhood with no AC/laundry/dishwasher.
3) The expectation of what they want in a house has risen -- think newer construction, updated, walkable neighborhood, easy commute.
As others have pointed out, there is still some somewhat affordable housing in the DMV, it just might not be in the condition or location that is desired.

No, the first PP had it. You're just rewording what was already said but in more words. Champagne tastes, beer budget. 20 yr olds starting out have never had it all. This is a spoiled generation used to having it all, right away, no delayed gratification and it's a harsh adjustment. But they will be fine.

More like the housing market has beer tastes on a champagne budget.

So there are no fixer uppers? What zip code are you looking at I'm sure people can help you find the diamonds in the rough. But you want it all, right now, no waiting. Just own it.

Cute guess, but wrong. I did buy a N Arlington fixer upper pre-COVID. If I wanted to do that today my house would be over 300k more and labor/renovation costs have gone up.

So I do have all that I want and I have it right now. But I have empathy for the people coming up behind me that have fewer opportunities to buy. Increasingly the fixers are getting sold to developers or cash buyers and turned into giant new homes. There just isn’t an endless supply of fixer uppers in the wings for Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

All you have are personal attacks and a complete delusional grasp on economic statistics regarding the housing market, no empathy. Sorry not all of us are “I got mine, if you want yours you are just a whiner.”

Give me a break. You're not getting empathy for being picky house hunters. Your generation can take a number like everyone else and wait your turn.

[Anonymous]

In the 90s, as a young married couple, we moved to the rural south to work; it was where we could find jobs and could afford to buy a house.

Three sfhs later, we moved to the DC metro for jobs and buy a house here.

I think it is harder for people in their 20s today to buy a house, because the interest rates may be lower now, but the prices are incredibly high. But-expections are now through the roof.