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Can someone help me explain how people are affording a house in today's market?

Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:39 pm
Posted by StringedInstruments
Member since Oct 2013
18504 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:39 pm
Some general numbers right now:

Average home price for sales in the US (Q4 2022) was ~$535k. Median was $467k.

Interest rates are hovering around 7%.

20% down on a $535k house is $107k.

The average household income is $70k. Only 34% of Americans make north of $100k+. Only 5.7% of households make $200k+.

The average American has $6400 in savings if between the ages of 35 and 55. $3600 between 21 and 35.

The monthly payment on a $535k WITH 20% down would be $3200/month (with estimated insurance and taxes).

How is this sustainable at all?

A family making $150k/year will have approximately $9000/month in take home pay after taxes. This doesn't include health insurance or retirement contributions or other necessities that may be taken out (dental, vision, etc). Factor in daycare, car payments and insurance, emergency savings, etc, there's a lot that will be taken out of that $9000.

$3200/month for a house. And as taxes go up and home values go up, that number goes up.

I just don't get it. My wife and I make $140k combined/year, and we have a $1200 mortgage for a 2200 square foot house. I can't imagine being on the market right now, and I feel like we make decent money.
Posted by Kingpenm3
Xanadu
Member since Aug 2011
8982 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:41 pm to
Couple buys house for 400k, the bank knows that inflation is going to shoot that value up to 600k over the next couple of years. Then the bank can give them a HELOC to work against to pay the original note.
Posted by saturday
Pronoun (Baw)
Member since Feb 2007
7122 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:42 pm to
quote:

Only 5.7% of households make $200k+



That can't be right


Edit: I thought the number was higher, I guess not
This post was edited on 4/3/23 at 3:56 pm
Posted by SonOfSlickWillie
Member since Nov 2016
65 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:42 pm to
What amazes me is how many people are putting in cash offers on houses.
Posted by GreatLakesTiger24
One State Solution
Member since May 2012
55946 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:42 pm to
It’s called generational wealth
Posted by shutterspeed
MS Gulf Coast
Member since May 2007
63682 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:42 pm to
USDA loans, FHA loans, rolling closing costs into the home price...
Posted by BilbeauTBaggins
probably stuck in traffic
Member since May 2021
4726 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:45 pm to
Renting is cheaper and has less hassle than being a homeowner. If something breaks, you call the landlord/apartment complex and it gets fixed/replaced.) No dedication to a massive note every month. This is a massive incentive compared to owning a home, where you would have to provide major upkeep just to see an even return on investment.
Posted by Robin Masters
Birmingham
Member since Jul 2010
30105 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:45 pm to
You’ll own nothing and like it.
Posted by Epic Cajun
Lafayette, LA
Member since Feb 2013
32830 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:53 pm to
quote:

20% down on a $535k house is $107k.

Well, for starters you don't have to put down 20%. People are terrified of PMI, "it's throwing away money". Well, if you stayed out of the market for a house these few years because you were saving up 80k for a down payment on a 400k house, congrats you now have an interest rate that is double of what you could've had and the 400k house you were looking at is now 500k. All because you didn't want to pay <$100/mo in PMI.
Posted by Robin Masters
Birmingham
Member since Jul 2010
30105 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:54 pm to
When I was a kid my single mom couldn’t afford anything close to her work so she bought a hundred year old house and 20 acres out in the country about 45 min from the city for $22k (in 1985). We worked for 5 years fixing it up and sold it for $160k.

We did the same thing a little closer and she sold t for $400k. She’s now worth over 2 million.

Everyone thinks they deserve the best without needing to sacrifice

This post was edited on 4/3/23 at 2:55 pm
Posted by Shexter
Prairieville
Member since Feb 2014
14016 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:54 pm to
40 year mortgages are on the way



quote:

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — This week the Federal Housing Administration gave the OK to 40-year mortgages. It's a move designed to try and make it easier for first-time home buyers.

"If it helps people get into a house, it's a good thing," Sonsire Gonzalez, a real estate agent in Port St Lucie, said.

The idea is to reduce monthly mortgage payments, which have been rising as mortgage rates go up.


Redfin.com reports over the last year, the average mortgage payment has risen 30% to a record $2,563 a month.

"Forty-year mortgage stretches out that payment over a longer period of time, so it makes for a lower payment, which is what a lot of buyers need right now," Gonzalez said.

Bankrate.com recently compared 30- and 40-year mortgages and found on a $312,000 loan at 6.85% interest, the monthly payments were $2,044 for 30 years and $1,904 for 40 years.





quote:

The extra 10 years also added more interest, close to $170,000 more, but in the short term, experts said it can make a difference, especially since many homeowners hardly stay in one house for 30 or 40 years.


This post was edited on 4/3/23 at 2:57 pm
Posted by sidewalkside
rent free in yo head
Member since Sep 2021
1754 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:59 pm to
It only gets worse the longer you wait to buy.
Posted by caro81
Member since Jul 2017
5004 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:07 pm to
i honestly dont know.

i am just glad i got into the homeowner side of the equation when i did. still late to the game comparatively but the value of my house ha gone up drastically since.

my wife and I combined income puts us in "upper" class but i sure as shite dont feel like it.
Posted by Jcorye1
Tom Brady = GoAT
Member since Dec 2007
71584 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:10 pm to
They are going severely house poor. I'm trying to get a house in Charlotte, and we are being competitive, but constantly coming in second. I've done the math and know around what % of Charlotte and NC makes more than we do, and it's not very much.
Posted by frequent flyer
USA
Member since Jul 2021
2999 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:17 pm to
quote:

The monthly payment on a $535k WITH 20% down would be $3200/month (with estimated insurance and taxes).


Weirdly enough, the higher rates haven’t seem to cut down prices very much yet. There is just no inventory.
Posted by tigafan4life
Member since Dec 2006
48970 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:30 pm to
quote:

My wife and I make $140k combined/year,
We are in and around that same amount. I would love to move right now because we have outgrown our home 3 years ago but the housing market is just dumb right now in BR.
Posted by Hamma1122
Member since Sep 2016
19879 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:33 pm to
Worry about you. Makes life very easy
Posted by SPEEDY
2005 Tiger Smack Poster of the Year
Member since Dec 2003
83466 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:38 pm to
Posted by boogiewoogie1978
Little Rock
Member since Aug 2012
17119 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:39 pm to
Houses here is Little Rock have been popping up between 750,000 to 1.2 and are selling in a week. It's baffling to me. I can't put my finger on it. In my gut something feels off though.
Posted by Loup
Ferriday
Member since Apr 2019
11549 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 3:55 pm to
I live in a small house and don't have a lot of shite to fill it with.

quote:

I just don't get it. My wife and I make $140k combined/year, and we have a $1200 mortgage for a 2200 square foot house. I can't imagine being on the market right now, and I feel like we make decent money.


I think I would trade my $600 mortgage for yours if it meant I got the extra 1k sf as well. It's nice not having a big note but sometimes the house gets cramped.
This post was edited on 4/3/23 at 3:57 pm
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