| AVP_Matt - 12/3/2025 12:39 I think money management has less to do with it than it gets credit for. Plenty of people managed money poorly in the past and have been able to buy houses. At the risk of sounding like my whiny peers, housing prices have more to do with the lack of home ownership. 20 years ago minimum wage was $7.25, so $15k/year and here you could buy a house (nothing special but perfectly livable) for say $30k. Shopping around could get you a better deal with a little work. I bet that same house would be listed for $150k today and probably sell for around or north of $100k. Personally I think the housing prices have more to do with rental ownership first, lack of supply second. Id be curious if someone could pull up figures for non-owner occupied housing over the years to see the trend(s).
I might add something else that hasn't been mentioned: Our current fixed rate 15 year house mortgage was written up just before the post-Wuhan Flu escalation of interest rates and other inflationary factors. Our monthly payment is up close to 15% since then, with no change to interest or prinipal. All just the escrow taken out for insurance and property taxes. Now, if you take THAT increase and add it to mortgage rates which I think have well more than doubled, well.... I don't think a whole lot of people have gotten 69% wage increases in the last five years to wipe that slate clean and come out ahead. |
Rental house market
