Anonymous wrote:You need to pay $1 million for any homes in the DC area, so you need a salary of like $500k to afford that. No one can make that much. I don’t know how anyone gets those jobs when I can’t even get accepted into the army as an officer

OP do you have kids? Are you married or single? Also where do you work? Let us know and we will brainstorm with you! It definitely is much harder to buy a home in this area these days. And many people have help from family. We saved aggressively for the 6 years (lived in a cheap neighborhood while all our friends were living in nicer areas) snd had enough to put 10% on an 850k townhome. My parents then gave us the other 10%. If it weren’t for their help we would have probably bought a much smaller townhome or lived farther away. We bought when I was pregnant with my first. Our townhome is now worth $1.2 and there is no way we can afford to sell and buy a SFM in our neighborhood. We would have to move further out which we aren’t willing to do. You need to find the combo that works for you. What are you willing to sacrifice? And what is nonnegotiable? For us it was location and size - we wanted 3 bedrooms and to be walking distance from a metro so that we could easily commute into DC. We gave up on having a SFH, a yard and a second car.

The only reason I have a decent home in a good neighborhood is because I worked overseas for a number of years in a country many people would avoid on a decent expat package which allowed me to save pretty aggressively. That allowed me to put 40% down during the years of low interest rates. Needless to say we are probably never moving. At least not until retirement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Commute, schools, crime, cost. Pick 2.

Plenty of DMV homes, even SFH that will fit well within $1M even today. PPs are just spoilt brats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Commute, schools, crime, cost. Pick 2.

Some of the best school districts in NOVA have 600k-800k townhomes. Like this one, the HS has IB program.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9490-Virginia-Center-Blvd-UNIT-130-Vienna-VA-22181/65729399_zpid/

We need to accept the fact that most Americans under the age of 30 will never own a home, get married, or have children. We need to reset our cultural/social expectations for adulthood. It is ok to rent an apartment for your entire life and spend your free time pursuing leisure instead of raising a family.

Anonymous wrote:I bought my first place a small coop in a foreclosure sale in 1991. Sold it 2000 for a 49k profit. Added 80k in savings during that time and bought my starter home. Paid that off a few years early. Sold that for an 240k profit and added 250k savings and bought my trade up home in 2018.

People today want to jump straight to trade up home.

fck off, people who were in the market in the 90s

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Commute, schools, crime, cost. Pick 2.

I bought my first place a small coop in a foreclosure sale in 1991. Sold it 2000 for a 49k profit. Added 80k in savings during that time and bought my starter home. Paid that off a few years early. Sold that for an 240k profit and added 250k savings and bought my trade up home in 2018.

People today want to jump straight to trade up home.

We bought a partially updated non Instagramable SFH in one of the less desirable school districts for 400k 10 years ago. And have stayed there. Values are now up to about 650-700k and we could not afford to buy here anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just did a quick Zillow scan and there are tons of homes in south Arlington, Baileys, Alexandria, suitland, Largo, etc. under $700k. That’s where you start. It’s truly not rocket science.

We have SFH in West Springfield under $700k. Townhomes can be found at a lower price point, of course.

We're also in a SFH house in West Springfield - people on this board loved to shit on Springfield in the past and would never dream of moving there. It's not our starter house either! It's our home either until we retire and move or until we die.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

If you’re only willing to consider a SFH in a handful of very expensive neighborhoods, sure. You’re priced out. There are other places and housing types. You could definitely get a 3 bedroom house for less than $1m 10 years ago if you were willing to compromise just a little on location.

A lot of expensive neighborhoods have residents in the 45-65 range, we have great income and bought in our early 40s, and we had less than 3 bedrooms before this. My neighbors are all 8-10 years older than me.

If PP is barely 27 making less than 6 figures and hypothetically live in great falls, where do they even go for young people fun activities? 😆 the cool bars are 40 min away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

If you’re only willing to consider a SFH in a handful of very expensive neighborhoods, sure. You’re priced out. There are other places and housing types. You could definitely get a 3 bedroom house for less than $1m 10 years ago if you were willing to compromise just a little on location.

We get on the property ladder. Buy a townhouse or a condo. Trade up to a exurb when you have kids and are worried about schools. Until then enjoy city life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think salaries have gone way up in respect to housing prices. My house value is pretty much exactly the same as when I bought it 13 years ago with a cumulative of 41% inflation. However, I am essentially earning the same as I did at that time despite numerous years of experience, maybe a percentage point or two increase.

So, people entering the market a few years ago have quite the buying power.

EG they can afford to go and get themselves a mortgage if they want to buy my house. Even considering the one bright spot of my matriculation was that mortgage rates were rock bottom.

That being said, I wish mortgage rates were lower, so that I can raise the price of my house.

You must not live around here. When we were first striving for a 3br 10 years ago, they were $1M. We thought, oh in 3-4 years we’ll be able to afford that. The same 3brs 3-4 years later were then $1.2M. And now they are $1.6. We cannot earn or save enough to reach the first rung on the ladder.

You must be one of those mathematically challenged sorts that wants to buy an inflated house next to a bunch of other people that paid too much for their houses, a decent 3br house didn't cost $1mil ten years ago. Not the one I bought anyway.

We bought a 4 bedroom house 14 years ago for $400k. (Now it's worth more than a million, the neighborhood has changed etc)

You have options, you just need to figure out what you can tolerate.