It's pretty well established that housing costs have skyrocketed while median

Jan 27, 2022
6:04:08pm

jamfam Contributor

household income has grown much more slowly. It's not really accurate to pretend "everything's better today".

U.S. House Prices Are Rising Exponentially Faster Than Income (2021 Data)

Across the U.S., home prices have outpaced income. Our data reveals how the American dream of homeownership is becoming a nightmare.

https://www.realestatewitch.com/house-price-to-income-ratio-2021/

I've had to sacrifice and save and work hard and admittedly got lucky in some regards with when we purchased. I'm not so naive as to pretend that the market is as favorable as it was even when we built our home three years ago.

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jamfam

Previous username: mowerpower
New username: hiphopopotamus
Bio page: jamfam
Joined: Sep 29, 2005
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Messages

Author

Time

Everything about today’s economy is better than what Ifaced as a young newlywed.

Lifi

1/27/22 5:29pm

Housing inventory is at an ALL TIME LOW. This isn’t the 70’s or 80’s. Sorry

The_Cuss

1/27/22 5:36pm

^^^^Excuse^^^^

Lifi

1/27/22 5:39pm

What were home prices then vs now

Deleted

1/27/22 5:41pm

I made $900/month. So what does the home price matter. It’s all relative

Lifi

1/27/22 5:47pm

What percentage of your income went toward your mortgage?

aplusfan

1/27/22 5:50pm

$550 month.

Lifi

1/27/22 5:56pm

This chart shows the base pay for an E4 in 1981

Wingnut

1/27/22 6:01pm

900 in 1981 is equivalent to 2760 today

gretsch

1/27/22 8:52pm

Complaining that all of your wealth is tied up in property is also an excuse. Your home should never be considered

unctoothman

1/27/22 5:47pm

Tell that to millions of blue collar Americans who have naught but their homes.

Lifi

1/27/22 5:58pm

Tell that to the tens of millions of blue collar workers who can’t afford homes

valleus

1/27/22 6:00pm

And that's the point there. It's entirely a matter of perspective.

unctoothman

1/27/22 6:29pm

Thank goodness it is not the 70's or 80's. But there are legitimate concerns for both eras.

Wingnut

1/27/22 5:41pm

Yeah housing being one of them. The avg price to income in 2021 is 5.4x

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:11pm

Go find somebody else to argue with. I am firmly on the side of the guy who survived as an E4 in the Air Force in 1980.

Wingnut

1/27/22 6:13pm

RE: Go find somebody else to argue with. I am firmly on the side of the guy who

The_Cuss

1/28/22 3:14pm

Deleted

Forest Green

1/27/22 5:47pm

Your feelings about this are similar to mine when it comes to student loans. I worked my butt off to pay off

MHOP

1/27/22 5:41pm

LOL, someone with a pension lecturing those of us who have to save 10+%

chago04

1/27/22 5:48pm

You made your choices

Wingnut

1/27/22 5:51pm

Yeah, since EVERYONE is given the same opportunities and choices. LOL

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:17pm

The Military is probably the least discriminatory career choice. Available to just about anyone.

kccougar

1/27/22 7:48pm

Unless you're fat or have health issues

Wingnut

1/27/22 7:55pm

“But pensions” is a dumb distraction. While there are very few jobs that offer

Abe Froman

1/27/22 7:56pm

Pension?! And you could afford to buy a house as an E4?? You had it good.

valleus

1/27/22 5:54pm

RE: Everything about today’s economy is better than what Ifaced as a young newlywed.

spinner

1/27/22 6:00pm

It's pretty well established that housing costs have skyrocketed while median

jamfam

1/27/22 6:04pm

houses are also much bigger

Gente_Boa

1/27/22 6:07pm

Lol, look at the graph, it’s not just about the price. It’s about the income.

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:13pm

Exactly this.I shared The same article above. It’s nothing like the 80s. Worse

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:13pm

There is truth to this. But everyone GLADLY accepted the government handouts

Coug Dude

1/27/22 10:38pm

I generally agree with almost everything you post, but have a few counterpoints

reddead

1/27/22 6:06pm

Thank you! It’s not the same as the 80s and boomers can’t seem to grasp that.

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:15pm

Great post.

Mitty

1/27/22 6:41pm

That's an excellent point, but concerns about the "millionaire tax" are valid

reddead

1/27/22 10:15pm

Home prices have outpaced incomes but when factoring in interest rates houses do seem to be more affordable now.

NihonCougar

1/27/22 6:06pm

Where did you buy your first home?

LumberCoug

1/27/22 6:11pm

If only it was that simple. Look at home prices vs incomes. Way WORSE now.

The_Cuss

1/27/22 6:16pm

You have to look at payment vs income

teambret

1/27/22 6:48pm

3% on $500k is a way bigger payment than 18% on $100k

Kajdin

1/27/22 7:37pm

You make great points about living within one's means and I applaud your

Mitty

1/27/22 6:52pm

After running the numbers, purchasing a home now is almost identical to 1984 as a % of income.

NihonCougar

1/27/22 7:22pm

Compare 1950-1980 and then 1985 - 2000 to today. 1981-1984

valleus

1/27/22 8:02pm

Here you go. 2022 is obviously a huge jump from 2010-2020 but not drastically different from 1980-2005.

NihonCougar

1/27/22 9:04pm

Affordability however....interest rates in the 80s were outrageous.

CSoul

1/27/22 8:39pm

Mortgage rates were double digit as recently as the 90s.

Abe Froman

1/27/22 9:19pm

Monthly payment as a % of income is.about the same thanks to continued low rates. Hard to think rates stay at a point

unctoothman

1/28/22 7:19am

That’s interesting, especially that there aren’t more dual-income households today. Student loan debt would be one

Odysseus

1/28/22 7:32am

Are you sure on the two-earner household thing?

Mitty

1/28/22 11:18am

Yes, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Women make up a greater % of household income now.

NihonCougar

1/28/22 2:24pm

Huh, I just saw a different graph the other day showing two-income households

Mitty

1/28/22 2:38pm

Yeah it surprised me as well. Let me know if you find something else.

NihonCougar

1/28/22 2:43pm

Don't have hard numbers but just in my extended family alone for example

Mitty

1/28/22 2:56pm

All of my 9 siblings are single income families except the youngest with no kids

BYUFootballisBack

1/28/22 4:07pm

Also all 5 of my wife's siblings are single income families

BYUFootballisBack

1/28/22 4:07pm

I have 6 siblings, all of us are married. 3/7 are single income families.

The_Cuss

1/28/22 8:44pm

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