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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was economically feasible for them to downsize, more would have been doing it. They face the same constraints the rest of us do if they try to downsize. Limited availability of small houses, hassle of selling / buying, and the price difference between their large “as is” sale and a small dwelling in same area doesn’t make financial sense for them. It’s the lack of housing options that keeps them in place.

Oh they have options….they just don’t want to pay for it. Don’t want to pay capital gains on home sale. Don’t want to pay more for less square footage, despite being newly renovated or in a better location.

Boomers want Big.

I really don't get the criticism here. So people who are retired or are nearing retirement don't want to (i) lose a lot of money in taxes, or (ii) increase their housing costs. And this is somehow . . . bad? They should be doing something different? Seems responsible to me.

Can you explain how they are doing something wrong?

They should obviously be handing everything over to OP, because OP is a spoiled child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was economically feasible for them to downsize, more would have been doing it. They face the same constraints the rest of us do if they try to downsize. Limited availability of small houses, hassle of selling / buying, and the price difference between their large “as is” sale and a small dwelling in same area doesn’t make financial sense for them. It’s the lack of housing options that keeps them in place.

Oh they have options….they just don’t want to pay for it. Don’t want to pay capital gains on home sale. Don’t want to pay more for less square footage, despite being newly renovated or in a better location.

Boomers want Big.

I really don't get the criticism here. So people who are retired or are nearing retirement don't want to (i) lose a lot of money in taxes, or (ii) increase their housing costs. And this is somehow . . . bad? They should be doing something different? Seems responsible to me.

Can you explain how they are doing something wrong?

They're not doing anything wrong. Legitimately, if your housing price is $612 a month, then there's no reason for you to move. What's the alternative? Save $150 a month and be further from your friends and become totally socially isolated?

I thought the point of the original post is for people to stop hoping that boomers will randomly decide to give up their homes because it would make 0 sense for them to do so.

The posters who have pointed out that housing starts have decreased have hit the nail on the head here. We need more housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in Texas recently. Lots of new construction homes being built.

The irony of red states generally having less restrictive zoning.

https://www.newsweek.com/blue-states-housing-market-crisis-1877226

Texas is big and flat. Very easy to build. California has challenging geography - the only empty places left to build are mountainous and/or prone to wild fire risks or very inhospitable. California needs to build upward to compensate, yet nimby’s fight anything that isn’t a SFH or townhouse.

The last time we had a “New Deal for Housing” was post WW2 when the GIs came back and had no houses for their wives and kids. They had to live with aging parents. We will need another similarly dire situation in order to bulldoze over NIMBY protests to upzoning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop your whining and get a therapist to help you deal with your very transparent issues with your parents.

NP. My parents aren’t Boomers but I legitimately don’t see how people don’t understand why Millrennials/Gen Z/Gen Alpha feel enraged that no matter how hard they work they will never have the ability to build wealth the way previous generations did.

Who do you think is going to inherit the houses and 401k balances of boomers?

Real answer: private equity and asset management firms that own housing vulture funds, nursing homes, hospital networks, and physician practices.

Yeah, people who discount this don't understand how it works. And the PP who mentioned that many Boomers amassed small fortunes with no or little skill is right, which is one reason Boomers are so susceptible to this-- many have no clue how to protect their money from being gobbled up by elder and end-of-life care.

Also, don't laugh, but scammers are a genuine concern. They are getting more aggressive and clever, there are more of them, and they know Boomers are sitting on piles of cash. I know of two Boomer men who recently got scammed out of thousands this way. It could have been a lot more.

And to be fair, what is the special skill that the younger generations have? They can make a mean pivot table and slide deck? Most people aren't sitting at the top in a leadership position, they are sitting somewhere in the middle bored and daydreaming.

Also some of the jobs boomers have had successfully - nurses, teachers, etc, we still need desperately today. Are you knocking those positions? Are you being condescending to people who work low wage jobs?

The irony is that you just proved our point: there are Boomers who have amassed small fortunes by having a career as a teacher, nurse, firefighter, low wages jobs, etc. They were able to buy property near job centers, had low cost for education (teacher or nurse), maybe a pension, decent 401K match.

Not at all possible today for similar jobs held by Millennials or Gen Z to amass significant assets as Boomers who held the same professions. This is the story!

My spouse and I are Millennials doing very well. Much better off than my own Boomer parents, and probably on par with spouse’s Boomer parents.

But - we moved from our hometown early, prioritized savings and paying off debt young, and have been willing to take career opportunities that have necessitated several moves since then.

I am so sick of the constant whining of my generation and those younger. It’s still very possible to have a nice life. You just have to work for it and BE PATIENT.

I agree with this approach and it's what we are doing. You know who complains the most about the fact that we don't live in a big house and drive multiple luxury cars and take expensive vacations every year? My Boomer dad. If I listened to him, I'd be bankrupt, because he is MUCH more focused on us displaying outward signs of success than actually making smart financial choices.

Millenials didn't invent entitlement, impatience, poor money skills, lack of financial literacy. If people actually think Millenials whine more than other generations (I don't, I think everyone is the same), then ask yourself who raised these people. The apple never falls far from the tree.

My mom hassled me for years to step up from my new 3 BR "starter" TH to a 4 BR SFH. Never did. First kid going to college this fall. I don't have to downsize now plus I avoided 20 years of lawnwork and major home repair. Win!

I've been understood the "starter home" concept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in Texas recently. Lots of new construction homes being built.

The irony of red states generally having less restrictive zoning.

https://www.newsweek.com/blue-states-housing-market-crisis-1877226

… and more land?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The premise is dumb. Of course housing costs are lower because boomers are older and many have paid off their mortgages. When they were in their 30’s they had big mortgages (helped by much higher interest rates than today).

Boomers and elder Gen ZX had a much lower income-home price ratio throughout their child raising and home buying years than pretty much any other generation:
https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-median-annual-income-ratio/

Mortgage payment to household income ratio is at historic highs:
https://twitter.com/Barchart/status/1618079832730132482

Look, it was easier for Boomers - especially white Boomers - to get rich and acquire assets. There’s no shame in admitting that. Even during the Volcker years - the high interest rates still didn’t outweigh the low principal balances for homes back then relative to today.

This. May parents bough my childhood home with a 14% interest rate in 1981. But it was a 60k house they bought with an income of 45k (with a SAHM). Yes, that's a high interest rate, but it was actually possible for them to buy because they only needed 12k for a down payment (not a small sum back then but not some crazy sum either) and the monthly payment was not onerous even with multiple kids. AND it was in a good school district AND it was a safe, walkable neighborhood. It wasn't this horrible burden.

They sold that house for 500k 20 years later. They still had 10 years left on the mortgage but it didn't matter because they were getting over 400k in equity. Their next home was a custom build that they did not finance -- built for about 350k including land, they sold it for over 600k in 2006. Then another custom build (about 500k for land and construction) that my dad still talks about them "losing" money on because they wound up selling after the subprime cash for about 1.1m (it is now worth upwards of 2.5m). They downsized and invested, which worked out great. They recently bought what I think is probably their last house, for 850k in cash. They've got millions in the bank and it's largely from real estate and investment proceeds -- my mom has never worked and my dad has never had a salaried position that paid more than 100k. I'm happy for them, that's great.

But they cannot understand why I haven't been able to do the same thing despite low interest rates. They are confused as to why we still live in our "starter home" which needs some updates we can't presently finance, mediocre schools, more crime than we like. The reason is that we can't afford the upgrade. We are 15 years in on our mortgage and it's manageable, but even if we pulled out all our equity, we can't actually afford either the same house in a better school district, or a nicer house in the same school district. There's just no point. We'll stay and keep paying it down, and I do think in the next 10 years or so we'll be able to move (we pretty much have to by the time our kid hits high school). But we're not amassing a fortune based on real estate -- the market does not work that way anymore, but my parents don't understand that because it's all they've ever known.

[Anonymous]

Seriously dumb criticism. Every generation nearing death had, has and will have relatively low housing costs. Their expenses were incurred earlier in life.

But food news for whining millennials. They will inherit these assets en masse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop your whining and get a therapist to help you deal with your very transparent issues with your parents.

NP. My parents aren’t Boomers but I legitimately don’t see how people don’t understand why Millrennials/Gen Z/Gen Alpha feel enraged that no matter how hard they work they will never have the ability to build wealth the way previous generations did.

Because that’s a dumb conclusion to take from that article. Boomers own more and larger property than younger people because they’re older. Millenials are richer than Boomers were at their age.

There are several structural things — interest rates, tax policy, availability of smaller houses — that are keeping Boomers in their large houses, but most of the complaints I hear are from people not being able to afford starter houses. As the article points out, if Boomers start selling and downsizing, they will only make that problem worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously dumb criticism. Every generation nearing death had, has and will have relatively low housing costs. Their expenses were incurred earlier in life.

But food news for whining millennials. They will inherit these assets en masse.

No we won’t. Our parents are going to have to spend down everything they ever saved (if they saved) in end of life care that can run $5k+ a month. Boomers are going to live for a long time, this will easily drain most of the “inheritance” the average Boomer might’ve accumulated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously dumb criticism. Every generation nearing death had, has and will have relatively low housing costs. Their expenses were incurred earlier in life.

But food news for whining millennials. They will inherit these assets en masse.

No we won’t. Our parents are going to have to spend down everything they ever saved (if they saved) in end of life care that can run $5k+ a month. Boomers are going to live for a long time, this will easily drain most of the “inheritance” the average Boomer might’ve accumulated.

Well then take care of them yourself. You can't have everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop your whining and get a therapist to help you deal with your very transparent issues with your parents.

NP. My parents aren’t Boomers but I legitimately don’t see how people don’t understand why Millrennials/Gen Z/Gen Alpha feel enraged that no matter how hard they work they will never have the ability to build wealth the way previous generations did.

Who do you think is going to inherit the houses and 401k balances of boomers?

Real answer: private equity and asset management firms that own housing vulture funds, nursing homes, hospital networks, and physician practices.

Yeah, people who discount this don't understand how it works. And the PP who mentioned that many Boomers amassed small fortunes with no or little skill is right, which is one reason Boomers are so susceptible to this-- many have no clue how to protect their money from being gobbled up by elder and end-of-life care.

Also, don't laugh, but scammers are a genuine concern. They are getting more aggressive and clever, there are more of them, and they know Boomers are sitting on piles of cash. I know of two Boomer men who recently got scammed out of thousands this way. It could have been a lot more.

And to be fair, what is the special skill that the younger generations have? They can make a mean pivot table and slide deck? Most people aren't sitting at the top in a leadership position, they are sitting somewhere in the middle bored and daydreaming.

Also some of the jobs boomers have had successfully - nurses, teachers, etc, we still need desperately today. Are you knocking those positions? Are you being condescending to people who work low wage jobs?

The irony is that you just proved our point: there are Boomers who have amassed small fortunes by having a career as a teacher, nurse, firefighter, low wages jobs, etc. They were able to buy property near job centers, had low cost for education (teacher or nurse), maybe a pension, decent 401K match.

Not at all possible today for similar jobs held by Millennials or Gen Z to amass significant assets as Boomers who held the same professions. This is the story!

My spouse and I are Millennials doing very well. Much better off than my own Boomer parents, and probably on par with spouse’s Boomer parents.

But - we moved from our hometown early, prioritized savings and paying off debt young, and have been willing to take career opportunities that have necessitated several moves since then.

I am so sick of the constant whining of my generation and those younger. It’s still very possible to have a nice life. You just have to work for it and BE PATIENT.

I agree with this approach and it's what we are doing. You know who complains the most about the fact that we don't live in a big house and drive multiple luxury cars and take expensive vacations every year? My Boomer dad. If I listened to him, I'd be bankrupt, because he is MUCH more focused on us displaying outward signs of success than actually making smart financial choices.

Millenials didn't invent entitlement, impatience, poor money skills, lack of financial literacy. If people actually think Millenials whine more than other generations (I don't, I think everyone is the same), then ask yourself who raised these people. The apple never falls far from the tree.

My mom hassled me for years to step up from my new 3 BR "starter" TH to a 4 BR SFH. Never did. First kid going to college this fall. I don't have to downsize now plus I avoided 20 years of lawnwork and major home repair. Win!

I've been understood the "starter home" concept.

This, my parents and grandparents all stayed in the same houses they bought when they got married or came to the US. That's my intention too. Most people don't even have that many kids to need to worry about having a bigger house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously dumb criticism. Every generation nearing death had, has and will have relatively low housing costs. Their expenses were incurred earlier in life.

But food news for whining millennials. They will inherit these assets en masse.

No we won’t. Our parents are going to have to spend down everything they ever saved (if they saved) in end of life care that can run $5k+ a month. Boomers are going to live for a long time, this will easily drain most of the “inheritance” the average Boomer might’ve accumulated.

This, my mom is 70 and fully healthy. I hope she lives long, and by the time I inherit I might be 65, if there is anything left. By then my own kids will be long out of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The premise is dumb. Of course housing costs are lower because boomers are older and many have paid off their mortgages. When they were in their 30’s they had big mortgages (helped by much higher interest rates than today).

Boomers and elder Gen ZX had a much lower income-home price ratio throughout their child raising and home buying years than pretty much any other generation:
https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-median-annual-income-ratio/

Mortgage payment to household income ratio is at historic highs:
https://twitter.com/Barchart/status/1618079832730132482

Look, it was easier for Boomers - especially white Boomers - to get rich and acquire assets. There’s no shame in admitting that. Even during the Volcker years - the high interest rates still didn’t outweigh the low principal balances for homes back then relative to today.

The first chart doesn’t account for interest rates and the second doesn’t account for home size. Adjust the prices to per square foot and for inflation, and home prices haven’t changed that much. The average home was 1,660 sq ft in 1973.

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/new-us-homes-today-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-living-space-per-person-has-nearly-doubled/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The premise is dumb. Of course housing costs are lower because boomers are older and many have paid off their mortgages. When they were in their 30’s they had big mortgages (helped by much higher interest rates than today).

Boomers and elder Gen ZX had a much lower income-home price ratio throughout their child raising and home buying years than pretty much any other generation:
https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-median-annual-income-ratio/

Mortgage payment to household income ratio is at historic highs:
https://twitter.com/Barchart/status/1618079832730132482

Look, it was easier for Boomers - especially white Boomers - to get rich and acquire assets. There’s no shame in admitting that. Even during the Volcker years - the high interest rates still didn’t outweigh the low principal balances for homes back then relative to today.

This. May parents bough my childhood home with a 14% interest rate in 1981. But it was a 60k house they bought with an income of 45k (with a SAHM). Yes, that's a high interest rate, but it was actually possible for them to buy because they only needed 12k for a down payment (not a small sum back then but not some crazy sum either) and the monthly payment was not onerous even with multiple kids. AND it was in a good school district AND it was a safe, walkable neighborhood. It wasn't this horrible burden.

They sold that house for 500k 20 years later. They still had 10 years left on the mortgage but it didn't matter because they were getting over 400k in equity. Their next home was a custom build that they did not finance -- built for about 350k including land, they sold it for over 600k in 2006. Then another custom build (about 500k for land and construction) that my dad still talks about them "losing" money on because they wound up selling after the subprime cash for about 1.1m (it is now worth upwards of 2.5m). They downsized and invested, which worked out great. They recently bought what I think is probably their last house, for 850k in cash. They've got millions in the bank and it's largely from real estate and investment proceeds -- my mom has never worked and my dad has never had a salaried position that paid more than 100k. I'm happy for them, that's great.

But they cannot understand why I haven't been able to do the same thing despite low interest rates. They are confused as to why we still live in our "starter home" which needs some updates we can't presently finance, mediocre schools, more crime than we like. The reason is that we can't afford the upgrade. We are 15 years in on our mortgage and it's manageable, but even if we pulled out all our equity, we can't actually afford either the same house in a better school district, or a nicer house in the same school district. There's just no point. We'll stay and keep paying it down, and I do think in the next 10 years or so we'll be able to move (we pretty much have to by the time our kid hits high school). But we're not amassing a fortune based on real estate -- the market does not work that way anymore, but my parents don't understand that because it's all they've ever known.

1) 45K was a ridiculously fantastic salary in 1981 - that’s like 180K today, so please stop with the tired on a single income! sob story

2) I don’t know where your childhood home is located, but the overall population of the United States has increased by approximately 50% since 1981. So yes, real estate is going to be comparatively more expensive because more people are competing for the same resources (e.g. close to city centers)

[Anonymous]

What’s with all the boomer hate?