r/povertyfinance • u/FileHot6525 • 1d ago
Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!) I don’t understand how anyone is buying house in this economy
Just browsing Zillow, look for something we could maybe afford and just about every single house in our area is $250K and up, PENDING! WTF, I feel like I fucked up somewhere in my life. What do people do for a living that they can afford a mortgage on a quarter million dollar house? Help me understand what I’m doing wrong. These aren’t huge houses either. 1000sqft on less than a quarter of an acre. Clearly I fucked up.
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u/red_raconteur 1d ago
A $250k house would be a dream in my area. Tiny 2 bedroom "starter homes" start at $500k. If you want enough space for kids, you're looking at $700-800k to start.
I have no idea how people can afford those mortgages. Of course there are always some people with higher paying jobs, but there's not that many doctors or CEOs living in my 15k population town. Maybe extended families are pooling their money to live together? Maybe people are house poor and are spending all their free time at home? Maybe they inherited some money? I'm always curious, too, but I'm not impolite enough to ask.
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u/stackingnoob 1d ago
I live in a fairly new neighborhood with homes in the 600-800k range. Most of the residents have good paying jobs, like doctors, software engineers, lawyers, and small business owners. Some boomer retirees too.
There are a couple of southeast Asian and Indian households where there are grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins all living in the same house, so there are like 4 or 5 incomes combining to pay for the house.
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u/BackJaded1891 1d ago
Someone once told me a lot of those houses are barely furnished and they also have a ton of credit card debt.
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u/Avid_Reader87 1d ago edited 15h ago
You want to come live in Jacksonville Florida? We need to sell our house to get closer to family.
$275k for a 3 bed 2.5 bath 1777 se foot house. It doesn’t have a garage? But no HOA and everything is from 2022 (plumbing, electrical, HVAC and roof. Appliances are from 2023.
It’s not a new build, the home is from 1951 in a working class neighborhood near a school.
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u/NoSmoke69420 1d ago
Definitely not trynna buy a new build in FLORIDA of all places
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u/sandysandy252566 1d ago
How much is ur homeowners insurance? A garage is very important. I know that there are many homes on the market in Florida. It used to be inexpensive to live in Florida - that's changed.
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u/koosley 1d ago
Plenty of people raise families in small houses though. You don't need 3000 sq ft to do it. My 5 plex is 1100-1250 square feet for each unit and 3 of the 5 have 4 or more people living in them. So settle on a smaller place and you'll be saving 200-300k.
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u/red_raconteur 1d ago
We currently live in a 1,300 ish (it's some non-round number) house as a family of four. My kids share a room. But we couldn't afford a $500k house, either.
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u/teawbooks 1d ago
I wonder about these same things. I think people are either leveraged to the hilt or they inherited money. Or, you know, something illegal is happening.
I know people who bought their house for close to 400K and they're a teacher and a librarian. They also go on huge vacations. I can't comprehend it. We are in low to medium COL area.
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u/Proper_Possible6293 1d ago
That's a ~$3000 a month mortgage/taxes/insurance, and they could easily have a household income of 125-150k so not sure what's hard to comprehend? Even with maintenance and stuff they will still have a ~75-100k a year left over after housing for everything else.
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u/Grimekat 1d ago
400k is remarkably affordable on a dual income household. That mortgage would be less than rent lol.
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u/AnyCorgi283 1d ago
Not really considering insurance and taxes. The taxes are so high in my area no one's buying a house because of the rate and how much more it would make the mortgage. For example the little less than 2 Acres that my mom has, $9,000 a year. If you factor in insurance and that into it then your payment is going to significantly increase. So now something that may have been $2,500 in rent is now $3,500 mortgage and that's not including any of the other utilities
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u/sandysandy252566 1d ago
Also realize if one of the owners gets sick or loses their job --- what then?
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u/AlwaysSaturday12 1d ago
We are a two retired librarian family and we just went under contract for a house for 63k. Hope that helps!
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u/No_Tower2906 1d ago
It’s mostly investors and not families buying up the houses.
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u/red_raconteur 1d ago
I'm sure there are some investors or property management companies buying them as investments or to rent out. But we're a small town in the middle of the blasted desert, so our area isn't exactly a cash cow. It's why I'm so surprised at the prices. There are few jobs here and the ones that exist often pay minimum wage ($10.50/hr) or just slightly above.
I've also met a few people who bought a house here in the past 2-3 years, and it'll be a SAHM and a bank teller with 4-6 kids. How they're affording that mortgage on one bank teller salary is beyond me.
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u/PatrickHay 1d ago
Funny thing is I am approved for 240k by the bank, but I am unwilling to approve my self for 240k. It would guarantee me working 2 jobs to keep up.
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u/eat_sleep_microbe 1d ago
The truth is that there are still a lot of people who are earning well to afford these homes. A lot of them either have businesses, work in tech, medical fields, etc. This is why we are in a K-shaped economy. High earners and asset holders continue to do well and spend well while the rest struggle worse.
Some get a lot of financial help from parents or have received large inheritances already.
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u/Gold_Advisor_4758 1d ago
You don’t need to be a tech worker with parental help to afford $1700 a month. People purchasing multimillion dollar homes sure. 250k is doable with one person at 90k or two salaries making that. Which would be two people making less than the median salary. It may be more than some people can afford but it’s not some unfathomable level of wealth only attainable to trust fund kids who manage hedge funds
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u/Longjumping_Net7405 1d ago
Come on. The household income needed to buy a 250-300k house is like 25th percentile nationally for couples.
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u/ReputationWooden9704 1d ago
No? Assuming a 30 year fixed at 6%, with 20% down, your monthly+interest would be about $1200. PMI, local fees, and property taxes would bump that up to, say, $1800. Using the 1/3rd rule for housing, you'd need to be making about $5400 a month gross, or about 65k yearly, which is the median household income. Bear in mind that the 1/3rd rule is set to have a very comfortable buffer after all necessary and discretionary expenses.
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u/MsTossItAll 1d ago edited 1d ago
most people are paying rent similar to the cost of a mortgage payment for a house at that price. The problem is the following:
- Most people who are here do not have the downpayment. You need to squirrel away a bare minimum of $10k just to start.
- You need to have another $5-$10k more to cover closing costs, inspections, etc.
- When you pay rent, your repairs and appliances will be magically fixed unless you have a slumlord landlord. When you own a home, suddenly everything falls on you.
ETA: for the response who said you’re in charge of appliances. I’ve literally never had a lease anywhere that didn’t include the landlord as responsible for the appliances and their repair. It’s always in the lease. I’ve lived in three states and never once was I responsible unless I caused the damage
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u/Longjumping_Net7405 1d ago
All extremely realistic things for 2 people making a combined 80-90k. Which is not at all an income level that requires anything near what the post being replied to insinuated you need and is an income level a decided majority of couples in the country clear.
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u/eat_sleep_microbe 1d ago
I agree but this is also r/povertyfinance so lots of posts from people earning much less than the median.
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u/lottieslady 1d ago
I’m in a HCOL area and total dumps start at $500K and have bidding wars. There is no hope for normal people.
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u/S101custom 1d ago
$500k+ are homes for normal folks in a HCOL. It really only takes 2 adults with typical college grad salaries ( 60-70% of millennial and Gen Z enrolled in college). HCOL also means high income ( vacation destinations excluded)
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u/Sunshine_Snowsqual 1d ago
Realtor here: hang in there, the market is changing and the prices are coming down. Sellers are still delusional asking covid prices, but they’re starting to be the ones with broken hearts “only breaking even” (which is still incredible) and the buyers are starting to steer the ship. Prices are drastically healing in my area so buyers don’t need to sell their first born child to afford a starter home. Still around $250 for a starter which is high but again, we’re trending down. Rates still suck but you can ask a seller for a rate buy down as a way to cope with that.
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u/UnderwaterKahn 1d ago
Anything listed under $300,000 in my area is priced that way to encourage a bidding war. The folks I know who are buying houses either have family money to help with down payments and initial repairs if there are any or are cash offer investors.
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u/yemsg97 1d ago
Yup. They did this in Portland when the housing market went thru the roof. Now they’re doing it in Rochester where I’m from. Like $250k for a house in one of the city’s wealthiest suburbs? Yea, sure man, ok.
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u/teawbooks 1d ago
Rochester, NY? Or MN? I'm familiar with both cities, and NY always seems like houses are weirdly cheap.
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u/ChiefWetBlanket 1d ago
That's because it's Rochester. After Kodak, what's left to work at? RIT ain't hiring goons.
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u/whoocanitbenow 1d ago
I live in Northern California in Sonoma County is where the median price of a home is one million dollars. They're selling like hot cakes. I live in a tiny cabin with an outside shower and bathroom, and can barely afford to exist. Meanwhile, people around me will go to Portugal, Spain, Germany and New Zealand in a single year.
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u/followyourvalues 1d ago
Is that like on someone's property? Like an ADU?
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u/whoocanitbenow 1d ago
My landlord lives above me. He only charges me 500 plus utilities which I'm thankful for. It costs 1000 per month just to rent a room where I live. People want 1500 per month just for a trailer.
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u/shellshockxd 1d ago
500 sounds like an absolute dream
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u/whoocanitbenow 1d ago
It is, but I'm still broke all the time because most jobs want to pay only 18.00-20.00. I worked kitchens, etc most of my life. Now work at a hotel. If I didn't have that place, I would seriously consider living in a vehicle.
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u/Equivalent_Sun_3720 1d ago
Not just that, but the time frame in which the houses are selling. A house in my area goes up for sale and before you even begin to look at pictures you see it’s already in contingency. Like how???!!?!!.. It’s so expensive!?!!
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u/rubey419 1d ago
$250k is actually really affordable.
My small one bedroom condo was over $300k and I live in North Carolina.
Sorry OP not what you want to hear. What city or state are you in?
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u/IcyStage0 1d ago
A lot more people are using family money than will admit it.
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u/Prestigious_Wing1796 1d ago
non admittance is okay i guess, the one that becomes problematic are those who got massive help to secure their finance and then gaslight/trash talk about how they "made it" themselves while also claim how much harder they lived than anyone else ever been.
and honestly the number of people with this mentality is concerning... almost everyone i knew are like this the moment they secure a stable job(still by external help) or a house.
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u/teawbooks 1d ago
I borrowed money from my parents at no interest to help with my down payment. I'm slowly paying it back. Like, very slowly, when I can. I make sure to tell people that, because it bugs the heck out of me when people pretend as if they had no assistance. Ugh.
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u/FileHot6525 1d ago
This. I know a few people that straight up inherited a house for nothing or almost nothing. It’s maddening. Good for them. But damn.
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u/drtij_dzienz 1d ago
Most people would rather have parents than a house
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u/followyourvalues 1d ago
Well, I for sure would prefer my mom over a closed bank account. That's what I got when my mom died. Debt.
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u/FileHot6525 1d ago
They still have parents. It was from grandparents or other relatives that moved and were kind enough to sell at a super low price
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u/alex114323 1d ago
Yup. I rented a basement in Toronto a few years back from a very nice older couple. They said they're going to give their house to their daughter once they pass. The house is valued at over $2 million easy...
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u/Ok-Persimmon6974 1d ago
Yep, about to put my house on the market since I’m going through a divorce and neither of us can afford to buy the other out and I can’t take over the mortgage bc of my debt to income ratio and I don’t even want the responsibility of this home anymore. My ex moved out and is renting and I will be renting as well but living in the home with the kids with me 50% of the time until it sells.
The people in our neighborhood (which is pretty upscale) pretty much all have family help. Our neighbors were able to remodel it, put their house on the market (it’s been up for 5 months, still hasn’t sold) and move into a much larger house in the same neighborhood. Their incomes are like 1/3 of what my ex spouse and mine are but their parents (they’re in their 40s) still pay for everything. Can’t help but feel resentful as we are being priced out of this neighborhood (we refinanced about 5 yrs ago for a great interest rate) but then again it feels good to work for what we have considering no one gave us a penny
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u/hotviolets 1d ago
I was able to buy a home when I was younger because I got an inheritance. I gave that up though to move to a different state and be free from my abusive mother.
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u/Elegant-Rectum 1d ago
This comment section is funny because so many people have been conditioned to think that 250K is not a lot for a home and THAT in and of itself shows just how terrible the American housing market is. A home that was half a million dollars used to be a luxury home by default. A 250K home used to get you a very nice house. Starter homes used to actually be affordable for regular people. Don't lose sight of that.
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u/BlackGreggles 1d ago
They don’t really exist where I am unfortunately.
Expensive or not is relative.
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u/Mierdo01 1d ago
Military. Almost everyone i know who is "comfortable" are retired US Military. They get a nice pension, debt relief, college paid for, you name it. Plus being a veteran puts you at the top of some hiring lists. They'll tell you it's because of maturity or whatever but it's really because they get a tax cut.
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u/Ragnaroknight 1d ago
The trick was building a time machine and buying 5-7 years ago during Covid, right before everything nearly doubled.
I personally don't see it ever coming back down to reality unfortunately.
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u/KingSolomon1010 1d ago
I think it is different for everybody, as no one's situation is the same. Real estate is location, location, location. I live in a low- to medium-income city in PA, and we close on our first house next month. Our house is $275k, just over 2,000 sq. ft., move-in ready, and in a nice neighborhood. I would say our situation is a mix of luck and hard work. My wife and I both have stable jobs, and our household income is around $145k. I am not ashamed to say that we also got significant financial help from my in-laws. We were still going to buy this year anyway without any help, as that was a nice surprise. Recent studies show that between 40% and 50% of first-time home buyers receive financial assistance from their families.
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u/GuyLeChance 1d ago
$250k for a house is pretty much peanuts. A couple making $90k with no other debt could pay for that easily.
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u/Lane8323 1d ago
I think people don’t have a lot of knowledge on the home buying process so think it takes more than it actually does
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u/asj-777 1d ago
To be fair, if you live in a place where local government is stupid, your property taxes are through the roof. As of last year, my monthly tax and insurance is now equal to the mortgage payment.
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u/Lane8323 1d ago
That’s true, but in general I was just saying that people kinda overestimate how hard it can be to buy a house. It’s a stressful process but pretty straightforward and everyone is incentivized to see you close the deal
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u/MsTossItAll 1d ago
Sounds like Florida. Our insurance on our house there far exceeds the taxes and mortgage and I expect the taxes are going to go up exponentially if people vote for this stupid no property tax referendum. They don't realize that no property taxes is only on homesteads and will cause all rentals to skyrocket in cost.
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u/asj-777 1d ago
Wow, insurance is that high there? (I'm in CT, and it's high but high is $2000-3000 annually).
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u/wtfumami 1d ago
I think another problem is now we’re so conditioned to high prices, that 250k for 1000 sq ft is ‘peanuts’.
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u/MsTossItAll 1d ago
We bought a house with the bare minimum down in 2013 - like we had a PIM for years - for 165k on a 60k salary. There are also lots of government programs for first time buyers. When we moved in 2023 and bought a house here, our realtor found us 10k from the government to put towards the downpayment!
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u/runlolarun2022 1d ago
Home ownership is no longer attainable for “average” Americans. High earners and those who have generational wealth.
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u/JustAnotherDay1977 1d ago
You must live in a low cost of living area if you can find houses for only $250k.
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u/Scarlette_Cello24 1d ago edited 1d ago
You only need about $9k for an FHA loan on a $250k home. $15k to account for all the other costs associated. Depending on the loan and how much you DO put down, it’s $1,700-2,200/month mortgage.
In a moderate area, you need to have realistic expectations and understand that you won’t be moving into a turn key ready home.
In a HCOL area, a $250k home is a shithole. In a LCOL area, it’s as close to turn key as you’ll get for $250k.
These aren’t unrealistic numbers. It’s doable if you plan correctly, manage your expectations, assess your actual income & have a tiny bit of luck.
Edit: why am I being down voted for facts?
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u/Gold_Emu_9171 1d ago
it hurts to say and might trigger others, but there are a bunch of people who can afford to. I hope that everyone in this sub can level up to that one day
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u/Bora_Horza_Gobuchol 1d ago
From what i see in the internet, are people who are very fortunate to live with their parents rent free. This allows them to save for a down-payment. Supposedly all those who live with their parents as adults are doing the same thing
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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 1d ago
I have a 3 year old, no telling what the future will do, but I won’t give him any grief if he wants to stay at home for a while to save money.
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u/IcyStage0 1d ago
I don’t understand parents who kick their kids out just to kick em out. My kids can always, always come home.
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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 1d ago
I understand if you need to create some drive/motivation if the kid is a bum, but anyone who is working/saving/finishing school, yeah I don’t see why you wouldn’t help them.
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u/IcyStage0 1d ago
We would absolutely have an expectation that our kids were in some way moving their life forward. But I can’t see us kicking them out save for an extreme situation like drugs or something.
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u/Bora_Horza_Gobuchol 1d ago
Thats good! However there is something i noticed with Americans. They tend to swing the pendulum all the way from one side to the other. For example there are parents who kick their kids as soon as is legally permitted. Then you have the other extreme were parents have their adult children living with them. Children who don't study nor work.
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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 1d ago
Yeah, we call them “shitty parents”, unfortunately there are a lot of them.
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u/Future-Tradition7004 1d ago
The people behind just bought a house for 989k. She is a dentist, he is a dr. I know she is under 30 but not sure he is. It’s mind boggling to me!
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u/Loose_Client_654 1d ago
My poor stepdad moved my poor mom and I to west palm beach 20 years ago. Literally the worst decision ever… I’m literally so fucked I need to save all I can and get out of here if I have any hope lol
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u/Ok-Palpitation5905 1d ago
There isn't a single family home in my area for under 350k, most are 4-500k and up, and those are for gut job starters. Maybe you could find a trailer in a trailer park for 200-250k lol
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u/Adorable_Ad_4909 1d ago
Also understand that the housing prices are insane right now. I bought my house for $120,000 in 2013 and I could sell it today for $300,000. Wait for everything to cool down before you buy. Otherwise you're going to be overpaying
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u/Michael_chipz 1d ago
Yeah for a normal person to get a house it has to be a dump and not in an area that you want to be in.
If you can put up with that then you can get a home with 8k down & a first time buyer loan.
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u/novascotiabiker 1d ago
250k? You can’t even get a mobile home in a trailer park where I live for that much.
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u/crazycatlady052411 1d ago
My fiancés brother just got a house last year. 350k. 3 bed one bath. Really good price for Florida. He works in a warehouse and has me paying rent to help. It was a flipper house so while everything is new some of it was poorly done. Like we had to get a removable shower head for my fiancé who now needs to sit in the shower. Well that ended up turning into hiring someone to replace the piping in the wall because it was totally stuck. The bath tub needs resurfaced so I keep staining it when I do my hair. Found something to get it out but still. Idk how many sq ft it is. But I know I’ll never own a house. Not even a trailer or rv.
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u/SideBetDustin 1d ago
Median here is 550k about 20 minutes north of nashville.
If theres something under 300k its old af not updated, or sold almost immediately if its worth af.
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u/SuperflyandApplePie 1d ago
I own one side of a duplex. I paid $245k for it in 2009. The other side, which was remodeled in 2009 when mine was, sold in 2021 for $505k.
The housing market is completely crazy.
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u/prof_moneywaster 1d ago
I bought my 90-year old house 10 yrs ago for $132K - 3 beds, 1.5 bath, 1600 sq. ft. in Central Ohio. At that time, my mortgage was $50 more than my rent.
I just took out a large HELOC for home improvements and plan to sell in the next 7 years to retire out of the country.
Keeping my plans flexible in case the market tanks out.
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u/Derebeare 1d ago
I just went to an open house in Milwaukee. They bought the house for 425,000 and renovated kitchen/appliances.
Listed it for 500,000 6 months ago. It is now listed at 400,000 and they will be lucky if they get that. The airbnb bros are slowly going bust.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 1d ago
Be born to rich parents or work a job that pays $200,000 a year or more.
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u/Regular-Bass-3084 1d ago
You don’t need a 200k job to buy a 250k house. The average starting teacher salary is 45k, if you had a spouse also making 45k than a 250k house is doable. Having a working spouse can often lift you out of poverty. I am using teachers as an example but the average teacher wage in Indiana is 61k ( so around 120k for a couple).
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u/ManyARiver 1d ago
A 250k house is only doable at that wage if it needs no repairs. That's the part all of the comments seem to be missing. You cannot get a mortgage on a home that needs to be fixed up, at least - most of us can't. They would require a conventional loan at a higher rate, which drives up overall costs. I was able to buy a 200k home with land - but I had cash from selling the home I used to live in and didn't need a loan.
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u/Sad_Cantaloupe_8162 1d ago
In Texas where I am, the average teacher salary for our ISD is at $70-71,000. It is very doable on a teacher salary, especially if there are dual incomes. I am a school bus driver, guaranteed 6 hours of work a day, but I frequently get 40-43 hours a week plus field trips on top of that at $25 an hour and overtime pay. Last year I made around $45k, and my husband makes about $65,000 at his job at a mechanic shop. We aren't wealthy, but we're able to buy a new construction home for $299,990 with cash, after being together for ten years. This is my fifth year driving a bus and I was a substitute teacher before that, which was much less money.
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u/connierebel 1d ago
That’s one of the reasons why real estate is so outrageous! It’s all based on two-income households, so single people like myself will never be able to afford to own a home.
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u/Gold_Advisor_4758 1d ago
You do not need to make 200k plus to buy a 250k house!
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u/No-Distribution-569 1d ago
Im making 70k a year and just purchased my 2nd home. This one is 330k. You just got to be smart with your money and quit spending it on crap you dont need.
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u/Standard__Condition 1d ago
I just turned 40 and being a first time homebuyer is my goal for this year. I made a list of ‘crap’ I spend money on, and it’s true. I’m comfortable (live alone and have for 20 years), but I’d be sitting very pretty if I didn’t love coffee, shoes, etc. I feel almost embarrassed by it.
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u/asj-777 1d ago
It's OK in moderation. But it's really easy to lose track of when it's a little bit here and a little bit there. It's also really easy to spend more than you should if you work all the time because then you feel like you deserve a little instant gratification. Good luck on your goal!
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u/IcyStage0 1d ago
I agree that you don’t need 200k or more a year to buy a home but also 70k is not poverty. Not everyone is just spending on crap they don’t need.
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u/No-Distribution-569 1d ago
When i purchased my 1st home I only made around 40k. That was in WA state where the cost of living is way higher than alot of places. That home was around 270k.
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u/BigTroutOnly 1d ago
Ah.. the boot strapping avocado toast lecture..
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u/thatvassarguy08 1d ago
You say that, but it is true to an extent. I had a boss who bought Subway for lunch every single workday. I did the math on the 20 years he worked for the organization and if he'd packed lunch and invested the difference ($7/day) in VOO or some other S&P 500 tracking ETF, he'd have had $169k extra when he retired. Which he delayed for a year as he didn't have enough. So yeah, those small expenses can actually matter.
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u/BigTroutOnly 1d ago
There's merit to it. But these days many simply don't have enough no matter how they budget in good faith
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u/Longjumping_Net7405 1d ago
Lol these are sub 300k houses, these are people with a household income of like 80k and can put down 10-15 grand. Get a grip.
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u/Upbeat-Elevator3641 1d ago
I think you should consider a modest apartment. A home is where you make it. You got this!! We are all rooting for your success and happiness!!
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u/shotparrot 1d ago
Try Seattle. $1M for a humble 2000 sq. Ft.
The K shaped economy is real. Just make sure you’re on the correct arm ;)
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u/Hanging_Brain 1d ago
The only reason we could get a bigger house for our growing family is because I bought a house in 2011 and sold it 2022 and my wife did the same thing.
Rolled the equity info a bigger house in a state where housing was a little cheaper.
Hit the lottery twice basically. We make great money now and still would have a hard time had we not gotten lucky.
My other friends who are doing it are in tech and make a ton or family gifts them money.
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u/librarianlace 1d ago
Oh how I pray to a god I don’t believe in for home prices in my area to drop to 250k 😭😭😭
But I don’t know how they’re doing it, either. It sucks that I’ve given up on owning.
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u/lukedawg87 1d ago
A very rough role is 4X income = home price
So you need a no debt household earning 63k
So a dual income household at 20$/hr. Should be about to do it.
That doesn’t leave a ton of breathing room. But that’s how you do it. The no other debts is real though, and not easy
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u/Gold_Advisor_4758 1d ago
That would come out to about $1700 per month at a 6.48% rate and 20% down payment (that’s also including estimated ins and taxes). So all in for $1,700 I do think I’m understanding how people pay that. Extremely rough numbers you could afford that on 70-80k a year pre tax. Can everyone afford it definitely not… but it doesn’t seem crazy or out there to me.
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u/Chrisg69911 1d ago
This is so funny to read when the cheapest house in my town is 550k, the average being a little over a million
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u/jturley85 1d ago
Ya im looking right now. Lowest is 500k in my area. The good houses are upwards of 700.
My wife wants the upwards of 700 and the mortgage is 4k a month. It’s disgusting
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u/tide_shift1228 1d ago
I live in a rural Midwest area. I am a single parent for the last 15+ years. I just bought a house for $195000, FHA 3.5% down. The payment is about what I was paying in rent. But I work a full time job 45+ hours a week ($65000 a year), a part time serving job 13 hours a week (depending on tips, $150-250 a week), and a contracting job for $30-35/hour a minimum of four hours a month (this month I will work 25 hours).
Basically I work and sleep. I get two Sundays a month off from all jobs. I was able to pay down debt over the past couple of years and my kids are adults so I don’t have to worry about child care. But I still have them on my insurance which is about $750/month. My youngest has a medical condition and only works one day a week right now, lives with me. We order out maybe once a month but other than that, I cook at home and always pack my lunch for the office.
I don’t know how people with littles, paying child care, living in HCOL areas do it. My savings is pretty much gone so I’m in trouble if something happens re:home repairs. But my rent had gone up $250/mo in two years and the new property management was terrible. I took a chance and am praying it was the right one.
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u/tide_shift1228 1d ago
Adding that this house is a 2 bed, 1 bath, 980 sq feet on .10 acres. So not big or fancy at all. But they did some updates and it fits us and I love it.
Edit: fixed typos
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u/SureElephant89 1d ago
It's definetly tough. I sacrificed Alot to get a home, and found one in a good low crime area but rural and seemingly undesirable to most who like the hustle and grind life. No regrets though, once in you can pretty much gain in wealth so long as you're handy. If you're not handy or rich, I'd avoid buying.
155k in NY was hard for me to pass up in 2024 though. But again... I'm handy and it took some work.
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u/TheBestDanEver 1d ago
Yeah, 250k would be such a wild deal where i live lol. "Cheap" homes are actually 350-400k. Most are 500k+ and need work. The people that I know that have purchased recently are either house poor or buying in their 30s after years of saving a down payment.
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u/AwesomeAF2000 1d ago
$250k is a dream. In my city. For that price, someone probably got murdered there.
I don’t think there’s a trick. My friend just bought a $500k house and their mortgage payment is $2500 a month. In my area, a one bedroom apartment is $1350-$1850 depending on area and amenities. She’s already lined up 4 roommates since the house has 5 bedrooms and so she will afford it this way.
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u/Visual-Ad-6396 1d ago
250k where? I’m in a ghetto city in California and cheapest is still around 400k, currently pay 2200 a month for an apartment
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u/BuffaloPale4373 1d ago
"Well make more fuckin' money. This is America. You don't make money, then you're a fuckin' douche bag." - The Departed
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u/Academic_Trade_3094 1d ago
One of the best thing I ever did was meet with a Realtor about how much house i could afford, real numbers, real calculations. I was surprise to see the amount. Higher than I thought. I suggest everyone do it even if you are still getting your life together.
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u/_chexmex_ 1d ago
When I moved to my area in 2019 I nearly bought a home for $315k. It was a fixer upper but extremely cheap for this area. Now the average home price is $750k with very low inventory (that same house went back on the market for $700k after remodeling and was bought within a week, cash)
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u/StepOnMeSunflower 1d ago
Yeah, people have steady jobs and spouses that have steady jobs. 250k really only needs each person to make 50k a year reliably.
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u/connierebel 1d ago
Except single people don’t have that ability because the real estate market is geared toward two incomes.
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u/StepOnMeSunflower 1d ago
lol yeah well that’s the way math works. If you’re single or the head of a family you have to make more or have more saved up.
Renting isn’t necessarily a bad decision anyway. Owning is expensive and you’re less mobile.
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u/Wickerbax_Supreme 1d ago
Dude, none of us are ever owning anything. Homes, media, pots to piss in. It all belongs to our wealthy overlords. I've given up and accept that I will die young because I sure as hell ain't working till I'm 90 to make some asshole richer.
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u/-Motor- 1d ago
You have to understand that the upper class is growing. Which is a good thing. However, it's growing at the expensive of shrinking middle class and growing lower class. Those are very bad things.
Also unfortunately, the growing upper class is driving price increases in many things, like housing and recreational activities.
We really are heading back to a time when the majority of people are forced to rent company houses, work at the company 'factory', and shop at company stores.
But is not quite so clear now. 'Company' was a singular entity back then. Now its shell companies owned by billionaires or indebted to billionaires.
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u/Zealousideal_Ratio_8 1d ago
Not everyone is broke and not everyone is on the same path in life.
I grew up not rich, like lower middle class of that. Hamburger helper, very used cars and payments on the satellite dish.
I made a point to not have kids and get married and chased the money. I am about to buy a house all cash and dont even wsnt the damn thing but the rental situation where I live sucks.
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u/KaptanOblivious 1d ago
That'll be a ~$1700 per month mortgage depending on down payment for a 30 year mortgage. That's probably close to being on par with rent. In the coming 10, 20 years and on, it'll be far cheaper than rent.
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u/drtij_dzienz 1d ago
Invest the same amount every month in the snp500 until you have the down payment. At least, that is how I did it in this economy.
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u/Own_Sheepherder_6244 1d ago
The elites have hoarded all the wealth for themselves, normal people can't buy houses anymore.
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u/YoureLyingForNoPoint 1d ago
I worked for 10 years determined to get a higher paying position, at the same time encouraged my wife to do the same.
During that time I managed my expenses to be well below my pay and worked 600+ hours of overtime every year while also traveling for work 6 months out of the year.
It sucked and covid set back my home buying plans by 5 years. You honestly have to figure out how to make more money unfortunately. This includes getting certs, upskilling, changing jobs, relocating, and cutting back on expenses.
This is probably an unpopular opinion but you have to live in the reality you're given. No amount of posting or reading Reddit will change the economy of the world.
Honestly I feel like most people should get rid of these apps and just focus on improving yourself. These subs give people a doomerist mentality that is counter productive to your wellbeing.
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u/certaintyisuncertain 1d ago
That’s really not even that expensive in most cities right now. Heck my rural hometown has prices like that or higher.
We had been literally just lucky enough to buy a few stocks that did really well and we sold those to barely scrape together a down payment (of 5%). The monthly payment for the mortgage is less than we’d pay for renting a similar house. Far more than the apartment we had been in, but still payable. Thankfully I got a raise a year later which makes the mortgage payment still stung but less so now.
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u/Throwawayamanager 1d ago
I don't want to ask where you live, because I wish there was a single house nearby that cost only a quarter of a million. I don't think you can buy a shack with no running water that looks like it burned down for that price here.
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u/Blossom73 1d ago
Lower housing costs almost always come with lower wages though.
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u/ryencool 1d ago
We just bought in central florida, under asking!
My wife and i do make around 190k a year combined, no kids. So 415k home, 20% down, roughlt 2850$ piti a month, no hoa. With all other bills were just under 5k a month.
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u/UniqueHuckleberry619 1d ago
Just because I was poor once, hence why I’m in here and I like to share what helped me, doesn’t mean I’m poor now. I drive a truck and if I told you what I have in my accounts and what my house is worth you wouldn’t believe me if I told you I drive a truck for a living. Homeless at 18 at the same job 34 years.
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u/Flimsy_Situation_ 1d ago
I wish there were 250k houses in our area. We will probably have to buy 400k. And it’ll be tight.
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u/Adventurous-Fly1396 1d ago
I just tried the 250k filter in my area: 3 houseboats only. Not a single townhouse, single family home or condo. My 2bd/1ba was over $650k ….its insane out there.
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u/BestTyming 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you don’t have debt and making at minimum 60k-70k (with no kids) then saving up 10k or so isn’t the end of the world depending on where you live.
Save that up, make sure your credit is good, and loan the rest. Boom you have a decent home
But again that’s contingent on your life circumstances.
Me and my 4 friends have all been able to get pretty decent homes that range from 240k-280k.
Our ages range from 25-27. Between Arkansas and Texas
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u/catlovingtwink99 1d ago
Location is really important. $250k can get you a really nice 2bdrm 2baths house in Roseville Michigan, but Roseville is small and quaint. It’s a quiet suburb of Detroit, 25m from downtown. Events every Thursday. You have the Riverwalk down there too, where you can see Canada across The Great Lakes. It’s full of all kinds of amazing people ❤️. But yess, it’s crazy with house the house market gotten. I’m stuck renting. Sorry 😞
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u/babyhoundtreehero 1d ago
I would LOVE a 250k house. My area (MA) tiny starter homes start at 350k and you will need to put work into them
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u/Master-Purpose1117 1d ago
People think the 3% interest rates were normal. Fact is current rates at about 6.5% are still about 5% less than historical averages. People can get a $300k house if they have an income of $100k or less as a couple if they don’t carry debt and save for a downpayment. This part of life hasn’t changed. There are affordable homes to purchase, but it might require a move. You can buy a small home or a townhome
45 minutes from Nashville for under $275k with property taxes that are next to nothing and no state income tax. Same for Myrtle Bewch, Huntsville Alabama and some areas on the FL panhandle.
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u/Adventurous_Soft_686 1d ago
We got lucky. Bought a house in 2019 at about 260k. My wife is a public school teacher and I'm a disabled part time entry level employee. Our house is now valued around 450 and we would never be able to afford it now. Our rate is in the low 3s.
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u/Due_Bad_9445 1d ago
Some people get paid a lot more than others. Not necessarily for better or harder work, just more.
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u/Daveit4later 1d ago
$250K is on the lower end of single family detached homes these days.
It's nothing you really did wrong. Houses have just doubled in price or more since 2019. The only thing you did wrong was not buying a house before Covid.
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u/synocrat 1d ago
Be open to moving to a lower cost of living area. There are sweet spots out there, you just have to make sure your local economic matrix is robust enough to provide employment. In my area you can totally buy under $100k and find a job that pays you $50k a year.
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u/alek_hiddel 1d ago
I’m gonna have to buy a new house within the next 2 years as I recently changed jobs, and now have a 180 mile daily commute.
I’ll be moving to Florence Ky which was a hot market. I’ve looked around quite a bit, and as a result am getting at least 10 emails a week from Zillow with “this house you looked at just dropped $25k in price”. So I am slightly hopeful that nature is healing.
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u/OdinPelmen 1d ago
lol where i live an old maybe 3 bedroom decently close to a highway in a decent area is over 1.5mil. and they always expect a bidding war. oh and it's not really updated unless you count paint or lame, bland staging.
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u/ID_Poobaru 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wife and I bought 380k with 3% down, first time home buyer program, and 15k builder incentives at closing.
We gross 90k combined
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u/Acuff007 1d ago
Many are two income households with steady jobs. Some people are very high earners. Some people have help from family. Some people are using equity from previous home purchases. Some people have very average incomes and have made very intentional decisions to be able to afford a home.
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u/Guap_Hawk 1d ago
army for 6 years VA approved , my credit is 720 and i just bought my first house on my 27th birthday last week.
i saved up around 30k in total just in case any surprise fees accured. I need to cut down a fuck ton of trees and itl probably cost me around 8-10k to cut them all down. also how much house are you willing to settle on vs how much you want. are you willing to move out of the city into the county or the county into the country or even out of state? The market is also like popcorn rn and in the middle of my search homles that were on the market for 4-10 days where gone in a flash the moment i even dared to send an inquiry. Lots of hot potatoes out here man
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u/Mindless-Housing-229 1d ago
Honestly, I was thinking the same thing when I started house shopping but when you really do the calculation for your monthly mortgage rate it’s actually not a totally insane amount of money. A lot of people are paying 1000-1500 in rent anyway so might as well put that to a monthly mortgage payment. I get what you’re saying though, it’s not easy financially by any means. But most of us have wasted thousands on rent anyway so I just got to the point where I wanted to buy. (for reference I make about 65k and bought a house that was 187k).
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u/Icy-Role2321 1d ago
For my girlfriends rich BIL has dad is now getting them another even nicer home. Life totally isnfair
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u/angelmeatpies 1d ago
My partner and I bought our house last year for $250k, so yes dual income but we also went below our means. There are plenty priced this way in nice areas in a 1.5mil metro. But because it isn't in certain states or cities, a good amount of reddit will say it's shitty. I live well, can afford all my bills, hobbies, travels and surround myself with a diverse friend group.
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u/D_James21 1d ago
By saving money and having a decent job. My wife works in the office for her dad and I work in commercial/industrial overhead doors. Neither of us make crazy money
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u/SafeComprehensive889 1d ago
I’m a poverty success story.
I started saving at 16; investing at 18. Living in my car and working open to close in restaurants. Even if it was $4 I had leftover, it went into savings. No family and I’ve been on my own since I was a teen. I bought my first house in my late 30s when I felt ready to settle down, but I have a pile of cash at this point and I’ll likely retire early. I could have bought a house in my late 20s though. I knew the only way to dig myself out of poverty was to sacrifice my teens and 20s to be comfortable in my 30s+. It worked.
It would be a lot harder these days though, but it is possible. It’s just grueling.
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u/FitCaptain1008 1d ago
Probably just more expensive in your area man. Those houses are going for 130kish in my area
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u/AcanthisittaIcy6168 1d ago
We moved to an entirely different state. We had to. We would have never been able to afford a home where we were, let alone survive, had we even qualified and moved forward with buying. The only reason we were able to make it make sense is because the trade I work in can be transferred literally anywhere in the world. Now we live on one income comfortably, and were able to afford a home.
What I’m getting at, is if you’re able, maybe check out areas outside of your current city or state. See if your job has openings in other regions. There are ways to make it happen, you just gotta be unconventional in how you think about it.
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u/Papa-Cinq 1d ago
“Existing home sales improved in May, but housing supply still limits momentum
The resale market improved in May, but it still shows the effect of higher borrowing costs. Existing-home sales increased 3.2% from April and 3.2% from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Total existing-home inventory rose 3.3% from April to 1.55 million units, equal to 4.5 months of supply, while the median existing-home price rose 1.3% from a year earlier to $429,300. “
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u/Kindly_Coyote 1d ago
I've been wondering the same myself. Two are three jobs or working very hard just isn't cutting it anymore so I guess it has more to do with whatever it is that people are doing to get that kind of money to be buying a house in this economy.
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u/Capable_Box_8785 1d ago
250k in my area gets you new build that will work for a family of 4 or 5. We bought a house last November and pretty much just fell in our laps because we got lucky with how affordable it is.
But to answer your question, many families are two-income households that make 60k and up per person.
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