Another article showing concern in the housing market- yet the author may have lacked critical thinking
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
I read thru the comments on that house payment is 40% of income thread and I shake my head.
The other side of the equation is the lack of affordable housing. Not everyone needs a 1800 sf or larger home. Build them smaller and efficient. A small home costs less to heat and cool and should have less maintenance costs.
Simple designs are cost efficient. Long narrow house plans work well.
Its diminishing returns.
Cost for the builder to construct a home here is in the $100 to $150 per square foot - for the actual house So go from 2500 to 1500 is about $100 to $150K. But you still need $50 to $75K lot under it, and all the associated utility and services, and you still need to build a road to it, and permit it, and so on. So its not a 40% drop in cost. Its maybe a 20% drop in cost for a 40% smaller house. So people just stretch themselves back into 2500 square feet.
Or go to a townhome, where the costs to build are much cheaper - less land, shared services, shorter roads to build, etc.
Then were back to the high density construction debate.
Yes-but as stated no one wants it in THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD!
Nope, I don't want $200K townhomes in my neighborhood.
The simple answer to those that can't afford a $600K home. Work more than 40 hours a week - like I have the majority of my life. If where you work doesn't offer overtime, find a 2nd job. An extra 20 hours a week even at fast food here pays $14 an hour - thats an extra almost $15K gross per year. There is a labor shortage. Add a side hustle and your at $20K. Thats half your payment almost. Yes, there is taxes, and such - but the short answer is no one wants to do that.
Friend of mine started delivering pizza's as a kid. He was 50, making an easy 6 figures, still delivered pizza's on the weekend. He told me there was good money in it. I believed him. I think he finally stopped when his kids grew up.
Most of these millennials whining don't even have kids to raise, and there whining about 40 hours a week.
So I take it that when it comes to your kids, you will just release them into the wild at age 18 and say “work as hard as daddy and mommy did”?
I am not sure what your asking. But, since you asked.
Daughter 1. 4th year of college - STEM (but there may be a partial 5th - takes after her dad) She has a 20 hour a week part time job. Did a summer internship unpaid at the local research hospital for experience, also did a remote college class. She is also very actively involved in a couple extra curricular clubs which are related to her hopeful future profession.
Daughter 2, already graduated - STEM program - a year early. Had jobs in college including one for school IT. She now has a 6 month contract goof off job in Florida. Going to see her this weekend.
So - work hard - yep.
Release them to the wild - why would I do that? They can stay here as long as they wish. And yes, if they ever want a house I will invest in it with them. No, my parents didn't do that for me - they couldn't afford to. Helping your kids doesn't mean they have to be lazy.
You can really tell we have a bunch of "mature men" on this site that really can't relate to how much more difficult it is to accomplish what the rest of us have in the past.
Maybe we should talk about Social Security and Pensions----something most of us can relate to on here.
Now -I'm going to yell at some clouds.
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Like most my age I don't have a traditional pension, and social security is all but bankrupt - so that might be a short conversation.
I really don't understand your perspective. Yes, housing is maybe higher cost, but there are so many more opportunities to make money now. There is a labor shortage - for the first time since maybe we sent all our young men to Normandy. Yes housing costs more, but its also an asset - so your not paying on it to survive, your paying on it to thrive in the future. Get a second job. Buy a house. What did I miss?
Your going to have to help us understand your point, because I don't see why its so much more difficult than in the past?
I don't understand yours-so that makes us even.
The area is currently looking at "In Laws" additions to ease the housing shortage. We have to have affordable housing-but it needs to be controlled-like anything else.
I have traveled extensively-I have seen car dealerships, mechanics, tire shops, right next to housing-in South America. It needs to be thought out and planned. But all we all are doing-is hiding our heads in the sand and making sure future generations will not own property.
I'm out of this thread.
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So you understand that your daughters despite their hard work may not be able to afford a house without your help, yet you would object to $200k town homes. So basically you're one of those guys that once they make it, they want to pull the ladder behind them.
Also, despite all the chest thumping about hard work, boomers had everything handed to them on a silver platter. The greatest generation did the heavy lifting during WW2, US was pretty much the only western country with an intact economy and industrial base, so all that was left for the boomers to do was show up for work.
Nobody I know is whining about 40 hours a week; they're whining about crappy management that expects them to work 20 extra hours with no extra pay, no flexibility, and to jump when they're told to jump.
With the housing, a big problem now is that there's no middle ground. You either purchase a 1000sqft townhouse/apartment and suffer with $2000/month rent and barely able to save enough money for a house or somehow jump into a $400k+ house. There's no more new smaller houses being built. Somebody might get lucky and be able to buy virgin land and build their own house on it but then you're off to find a competent contractor who will work on your house over a developer like DR Horton.
As far as getting a second job, easy for a single person like me to do but not so much for two of my neighbors who just started a family. Kids won't remember that dad worked a second job but they'll remember when he's not around for their accomplishments.
A few questions from a millennial, in no particular order:
-Are people willing to move to areas where housing is cheaper if that's what it takes for entry into the market?
-Do they actually create and stick to a monthly budget?
-Are they adjusting their standards of living and expectations (even temporarily) to allow for fulfilling a savings plan?
My guess is in most cases, the answer to all of these questions is "no."
-Are people willing to move to areas where housing is cheaper if that's what it takes for entry into the market?
-Do they actually create and stick to a monthly budget?
-Are they adjusting their standards of living and expectations (even temporarily) to allow for fulfilling a savings plan?
My guess is in most cases, the answer to all of these questions is "no."
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