Uh, living in a SFH with good public schools in a Tier 1 city is a luxury good. What's so hard to understand about that? Heck, owning in a SFH in a Tier 1 city is a luxury good in most areas.

Anonymous wrote:I lived in dumps with many roommates for years and then I bought a dump and fixed it up and then another. All while working for the gov making less than much. Invested the proceeds in the market (but went cash and bonds in 2007-08), tracked home prices and then struck in the crisis. I live in one of the nicest areas around and house would probably go for north of $5 million. Oh, also paid off law school and undergrad loans.

Live low cost, save, invest, add value through sweat equity and track everything closely.

But timing is pure luck. My friend did similar lived in an apt with roommates till 37. He had two roommates in a rent stabilized apt and put like 80 percent of paycheck in tech funds. The lucky guy in Jan 2000 sold most of everything and a big loft in SoHo for cash. Now crazy part he on purpose sold it early 2009 as he felt stocks way more undervalued and put that money back into tech stocks.

He then rented till Dec 2019 when he sold stocks again and bought a big house in Malibu for cash.

But his story is like winning lottery ticket twice or winning the jackpot twice.

It is not repeatable and if you tried you end up bankrupt

My parents got married in 1957 in Manhattan and SFHs homes close to NYC in a good neighborhood, good commute with good schools were too expensive. They rented a crappy apt until Dec 1973 till they save up enough to buy a small 1,400 sf house on a 40x100 plot in an estate sale in poor condition.

The estate sale told me their parents bought the plot in 1909 when a newlywed but had to save till 1923 to afford to buy a house from Sears catalogue to put on plot. They lived in a cold water tenant flat first 14 years of marriage to save up.

I mean it has always been like this

Economics will attract the "normal people" to particular areas, and their "normal" kids will fill the schools. Their tax dollars will support the schools. So the schools will get better.

PS we all know what you really mean.

I lived in dumps with many roommates for years and then I bought a dump and fixed it up and then another. All while working for the gov making less than much. Invested the proceeds in the market (but went cash and bonds in 2007-08), tracked home prices and then struck in the crisis. I live in one of the nicest areas around and house would probably go for north of $5 million. Oh, also paid off law school and undergrad loans.

Live low cost, save, invest, add value through sweat equity and track everything closely.

A “crisis”. Man you Weald spoiled-ass people…smh

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your proposed solution?

DP
Tax second and third and fourth homes out the wazoo.
Higher Tax on investment properties
Restrict the amount of money non-citizens can spend on real estate.
Restrict corporate ownership of SFH
Restrict foreign countries from owning property in the US
Better enforcement of money laundering in real estate

I’m sure there are more.

No one is buying second or third homes in DC for investment. You can't turn a profit on it.

Anonymous wrote:People who want to live within close commuting distance to downtown in a major city center should not expect to live in single family houses - aka the least practical and sustainable use of space and resources. Close in housing needs to be much denser than SFH neighborhoods.

All OP is asking for is one magical house that is everything she wants at the price she's willing to pay.

When it's time to sell, she'll be justifying the increased price by talking about the free market.

People who want to live within close commuting distance to downtown in a major city center should not expect to live in single family houses - aka the least practical and sustainable use of space and resources. Close in housing needs to be much denser than SFH neighborhoods.

Anonymous wrote:That normal people can afford.

Just wait for the 15 minute city to take hold.

Maybe the issue is all the underperformers in schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has to be a troll. No real person can be this melodramatic.

Probably the same dramatic OP from the other thread who waited to long to buy and is now "shut out."

Yep most likely. And the one who keeps talking about how they missed the spring market and there’s still too much inventory.


There’s inventory. Just not in Op’s desired location. Why are 3 threads dedicated to people who sat around and missed the boat? We told you so 1-2 years ago.

You needed all cash offers.

Anonymous wrote:I’m from a small city that people on DCum sometimes list as someplace with lower COL. but the truth is that the dominant school system is terrible—worse than what any of the people around here consider a bad school. There’s a better school district that lies on the edge of the city but the housing costs in that district aren’t really lower than here. And the traffic is always awful because of tons of sprawl and the fact that public transportation is non existent. I thought about moving back, looked at the options and decided the DMV is a better deal than it may initially appear.

Same. We lived in a place just like this for awhile. Gorgeous, big homes for the cost of a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment here. GS 2/2/1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PG County.

You know why OP won’t consider this.

Terrible public schools.

8/6/5 for us. It's not awful.

Go gentrify the bad school districts to make their ratings go up. Then your property values go up as well.