Priced out of home ownership - 'It makes me want to throw up'

[crimsonaudio]

The median home sale price in the US has jumped by nearly 30% since the end of 2019, hitting $420,000 this spring.

At a time of rising property values globally, the leap has been one of the most dramatic in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

And that's not factoring in the added costs from higher interest rates, which now stand at roughly 7% for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that is typical in the US, up from about 3% in 2020.

Homebuyers today need an annual income of more than $100,000 - well above the country's household median of about $75,000 - to comfortably afford a home in most places in the US, research firms such as Zillow and Bankrate say, and face monthly payments that have roughly doubled in just four years.

Trying to buy a house is 'playing a game you can't win'

The US housing market has changed dramatically since the pandemic - an issue looming over the election.

www.bbc.com

 

[Bazza]

Was at the tag office last week and before leaving dropped into the Property tax office to inquire how the market was doing.

Short answer......home sales down due to higher interest rates.

I feel bad for those looking to buy their first home.

Not sure how things end up after the election, but the one positive is if you own property in Florida there will always be a market because there's only so much land to go around and people are still re-locating here.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I cannot afford to own a home. Housing market sucks. In my area you get a rundown/needs work house for 350k at 7% interest.

 

[92tide]

i'm glad we got our mortgage fully paid off in 2019

lot's of folks are moving into the atl metro area and that is going to continue.

and then, there's this

Real Estate Investors Purchased $1 Billion Worth Of Atlanta Homes In 2024, Driving Up Prices

Real estate investors are playing a role in driving up home prices in Atlanta. In 2024 alone, investors have bought over $1 billion worth of homes. The metro Atlanta area joined markets in California, Miami, and Phoenix where over $1 billion worth of homes were purchased by investors from...

atlantadailyworld.com

 

[NationalTitles18]

Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.

www.project-syndicate.org

Former US President Donald Trump, whose preference for lower interest rates and a weaker dollar was evident during his first term, is reportedly planning to override the Federal Reserve’s independence if he returns to the White House in 2025. The result would be a toxic inflationary cocktail.

These positive developments would have been impossible in a world where monetary policy was politicized, under presidential control, and focused on the dollar’s external value rather than its far more crucial internal value. Trump’s plans for the Fed and the dollar are a one-way ticket back to the inflationary chaos of the 1970s.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Was at the tag office last week and before leaving dropped into the Property tax office to inquire how the market was doing.

Short answer......home sales down due to higher interest rates.

I feel bad for those looking to buy their first home.

Not sure how things end up after the election, but the one positive is if you own property in Florida there will always be a market because there's only so much land to go around and people are still re-locating here.

I damn sure miss living in Florida. My wife and I talk about possibly moving there one day, but that would upend a lot right now. Politics aside, it is a very well-run state, especially when compared to Alabama.

 

[JDCrimson]

There are alot of dynamics creating this situation of home affordability.

- Boomers have way too much net worth and cash to let the economy settle down. Their houses are paid for and they aren't going to downsize into a more expensive living situation.

- Interest rates up 400% makes even the cheapest homes hard to afford. Rental rates follow housing supply dynamics because demand is crunched and because they can demand higher rental rates. Alot of rental homes and apartments were bought with low rate financing and ROIs on these timely purchases are through the roof. But a reckoning is coming for investment residential real estate when the balloon notes start maturing in next couple if years. It will be interesting to see if investors can raise rental rates yet again to absorb the financing requirements.

- In search of affordable housing, people are moving across the country such that rural areas are seeing sight unseen purchasers from the West Coast in the South. This phenomenon is pushing up the cost of housing in areas where it's been relative affordable. But now those areas have access to broadband and cell service making remote work more feasible.

Affordable housing in major metro areas is a pipe dream. And the upcoming coming generations simply might need to quit looking there to start out their working lives.

 

[jthomas666]

i'm glad we got our mortgage fully paid off in 2019

lot's of folks are moving into the atl metro area and that is going to continue.

and then, there's this

Real Estate Investors Purchased $1 Billion Worth Of Atlanta Homes In 2024, Driving Up Prices

Real estate investors are playing a role in driving up home prices in Atlanta. In 2024 alone, investors have bought over $1 billion worth of homes. The metro Atlanta area joined markets in California, Miami, and Phoenix where over $1 billion worth of homes were purchased by investors from...

atlantadailyworld.com

Yep. That's been going on for several years.

 

[81usaf92]

I damn sure miss living in Florida. My wife and I talk about possibly moving there one day, but that would upend a lot right now. Politics aside, it is a very well-run state, especially when compared to Alabama.

Depends on what profession you’re in.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Depends on what profession you’re in.

Granted, but I imagine that’s true of every state.

 

[Tideflyer]

Was at the tag office last week and before leaving dropped into the Property tax office to inquire how the market was doing.

Short answer......home sales down due to higher interest rates.

I feel bad for those looking to buy their first home.

Not sure how things end up after the election, but the one positive is if you own property in Florida there will always be a market because there's only so much land to go around and people are still re-locating here.

Folks still fleeing some of those hell holes up north. Oh, and California too.

 

[Tideflyer]

Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.

www.project-syndicate.org

I guess that means going from bad to worse. What a choice. Do we have any true statesmen in government who care more about the welfare of the nation than they do the current election cycle? It`ll be interesting, I think, to see just how many folks sit out November due to fear and/or disgust.

 

[92tide]

Yep. That's been going on for several years.

atlanta's been drive till you can buy for as long as i can remember

 

[crimsonaudio]

atlanta's been drive till you can buy for as long as i can remember

Central FL as well.

 

[Go Bama]

I see houses being built in Milan like there's no problem buying them. I've watched three new neighborhoods go up in the last four years. Milan's population is 8,171.

My home has doubled in value since 2011.

There is a guy that lives about two miles from me who builds houses in Jackson, TN to rent. He builds whole neighborhoods and rents the houses from $2500-4500. One of his secretaries is a patient and she tells me he is renting these homes as fast as they can build them.

I have no idea where people are getting the money to afford these prices.

 

[TexasBama]

atlanta's been drive till you can buy for as long as i can remember

There’s a reason why the newest loop around Houston is 185 miles long.

 

[TexasBama]

I see houses being built in Milan like there's no problem buying them. I've watched three new neighborhoods go up in the last four years. Milan's population is 8,171.

My home has doubled in value since 2011.

There is a guy that lives about two miles from me who builds houses in Jackson, TN to rent. He builds whole neighborhoods and rents the houses from $2500-4500. One of his secretaries is a patient and she tells me he is renting these homes as fast as they can build them.

I have no idea where people are getting the money to afford these prices.

We bought ours in 2011 as well, but it’s up about 3X due to land value.

 

[92tide]

There’s a reason why the newest loop around Houston is 185 miles long.

i'm really glad we're itp on the southside (been here since spring of '01). traffic is still crazy, but nothing like the burbs. housing prices are up but nothing like the "cool" east atlanta in-town neighborhoods, and we're on the n-s marta line.

 

[81usaf92]

Granted, but I imagine that’s true of every state.

Yeah everything is subjective. If I owned a company or was more involved in the business then I would say States like Florida and Texas are more attractive despite their crazy politicians but I work in a field in which is under state control and always is a political issue. I just don’t think Meemaw has made my life hell like Desantis probably is for people in my field in Florida.

Retirement… if that is such a thing… Sign me up for Florida.

 

[AWRTR]

I guess that means going from bad to worse. What a choice. Do we have any true statesmen in government who care more about the welfare of the nation than they do the current election cycle? It`ll be interesting, I think, to see just how many folks sit out November due to fear and/or disgust.

No statesmen don’t exist.