On one hand, of course shit is too expensive and wages need to be higher, but on the other, while home priced have increased for sure over the past 2-3 years, the reason they’re really unaffordable right now is high interest rates, which adds hundreds to monthly mortgage payments but which is a temporary situation.
There have been periods of high interest rates in the past, and they’re always followed by periods of low interest rates. Back when the Fed’s interest rate was basically zero for well over a decade prior to 2022, mortgages were cheap, but there were no savings mechanisms where you could get more than 0.5% interest, so everyone plowed their money into the stock market, which put people at higher risk of loss. Now you can find a CD or HYS with a 5.5% APY, which was unheard of before, and which is definitely outpacing inflation right now.
My point is these things come in cycles, and I have hope that mortgages will get cheaper again. This does not mean you will be able to buy a house in Seattle or Boston for the same price as 2005 though, the demand for certain markets has certainly made those markets less obtainable.
On one hand, of course shit is too expensive and wages need to be higher, but on the other, while home priced have increased for sure over the past 2-3 years, the reason they’re really unaffordable right now is high interest rates, which adds hundreds to monthly mortgage payments but which is a temporary situation.
There have been periods of high interest rates in the past, and they’re always followed by periods of low interest rates. Back when the Fed’s interest rate was basically zero for well over a decade prior to 2022, mortgages were cheap, but there were no savings mechanisms where you could get more than 0.5% interest, so everyone plowed their money into the stock market, which put people at higher risk of loss. Now you can find a CD or HYS with a 5.5% APY, which was unheard of before, and which is definitely outpacing inflation right now.
My point is these things come in cycles, and I have hope that mortgages will get cheaper again. This does not mean you will be able to buy a house in Seattle or Boston for the same price as 2005 though, the demand for certain markets has certainly made those markets less obtainable.