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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
18411 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
8966 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
7098 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
55643 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
63329 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:42 pm to
USDA loans, FHA loans, rolling closing costs into the home price...
Posted by BearCrocs
Member since Aug 2013
6449 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:44 pm to
Same way people are "affording" to buy those 75k broncos.

They can't afford it.

But yes, the people paying full cash for houses is a bit of a head scratcher
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
37526 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:45 pm to
quote:

What amazes me is how many people are putting in cash offers on houses.


fricking this.

What I don’t get is how so many people are getting new houses, new cars, and taking family vacations.

I guess having two working adults in the house helps, but damn.
Posted by BilbeauTBaggins
probably stuck in traffic
Member since May 2021
4414 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
29793 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:45 pm to
You’ll own nothing and like it.
Posted by Jon A thon
Member since May 2019
1658 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:45 pm to
quote:

That can't be right



you think it's more????
Posted by StringedInstruments
Member since Oct 2013
18411 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:47 pm to
quote:

But yes, the people paying full cash for houses is a bit of a head scratcher


Holy shite. According to this site, 1 in 10 home purchases were cash in 2022. Most since 1988.
This post was edited on 4/3/23 at 2:50 pm
Posted by cheobode
Member since Dec 2017
1161 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:48 pm to
quote:


That can't be right


LINK

It's actually a little higher, but not much.

Where I work, only one person(out of 130+) makes over $100K, which is the boss.
Posted by Jon A thon
Member since May 2019
1658 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:48 pm to
quote:

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


Yeah, landlords just love giving a deal to renters and aren't making a profit by being the owner of the home. There are certainly circumstances that make renting better, but the general cost of ownership is being passed onto the renter. Otherwise no one would invest in rental properties.
Posted by shutterspeed
MS Gulf Coast
Member since May 2007
63329 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:48 pm to
quote:

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.


Tell me you haven't been in the rental market lately without telling me you haven't been in the rental market lately.
Posted by Greace
Member since May 2009
4696 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:50 pm to
Yeah I'm currently paying 1880 a month and in August it's gonna go up to 2100. Trying to figure out how to get out of the rental cycle but they don't make it easy.
Posted by Epic Cajun
Lafayette, LA
Member since Feb 2013
32475 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
29793 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
13881 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 HubbaBubba
F_uck Joe Biden, TX
Member since Oct 2010
45767 posts
Posted on 4/3/23 at 2:55 pm to
quote:

Only 5.7% of households make $200k+
quote:

That can't be right
There are 124 million households in the USA. 5.7% of that is over 7 million households earning over $200k a year.

What do you think is the right number?
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