how people able to afford 400 - 600k homes? (Craig: coupon, 2015)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by emm74

Maybe growing their wealth is not everyone's goal in life?

Which would be fine if they didn't ask the taxpayers, family, or charity to bail them out when they come up short in old age (or even before old age). This is what inevitably happens in most cases.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Colorado^

Which is such a joke.... America is one of the cheapest places to live. You don't need to spend much to have a great house/car/lifestyle.

Yep. I'd say the one exception is health care...but even those costs could be brought down significantly if we lived healthier lifestyles.

Americans have no clue how much people in other rich countries pay for things. Yes, they have the guaranteed health care, but they pay through the nose for a lot of other stuff.

[Denver303TJC]

Keep in mind too that people in those $600k homes may have owned them awhile and they are now worth $600k and not what they bought at. The Denver housing market has shot up in values, which is good if you're a homeowner. Homes in my parents' neighborhood can probably fetch around $350k now, whereas when we moved into my former house in L-town, prices were around $130k. But, that was back in the 90's. But, agree that now if people try to buy houses for that price, obviously you need a good job (stating the obvious).

[AmFest]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

They probably don't spend $1000 a month for tutoring and activities for their kids.

No they don't. Most kids I know don't have parents spending 1k/month on that stuff for them.

[guyatwork37]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

PMI
Brutal these days

Oh man, that's rough. It really does pay to put 20 percent down. The problem is saving enough to put 20 percent down

[emm74]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Which would be fine if they didn't ask the taxpayers, family, or charity to bail them out when they come up short in old age (or even before old age). This is what inevitably happens in most cases.

Accumulating enough to comfortably retire on isn't the same thing as accumulating wealth. I prefer to do the former, while having a present day lifestyle I can also enjoy, over the latter.

[blackmet]

Originally Posted by Denver303TJC

Keep in mind too that people in those $600k homes may have owned them awhile and they are now worth $600k and not what they bought at. The Denver housing market has shot up in values, which is good if you're a homeowner. Homes in my parents' neighborhood can probably fetch around $350k now, whereas when we moved into my former house in L-town, prices were around $130k. But, that was back in the 90's. But, agree that now if people try to buy houses for that price, obviously you need a good job (stating the obvious).

The house we bought was sold to the last owners in 1989. For $62,500 dollars. In today's dollars, that's about $91,000.00.

We're paying about a 2.5x premium compared to what they were, even factoring in inflation. Even though our interest rate is probably half of what theirs was, it's still pretty shocking and probably unsustainable.

[Lost Roses]

Originally Posted by blackmet

The house we bought was sold to the last owners in 1989. For $62,500 dollars. In today's dollars, that's about $91,000.00.

We're paying about a 2.5x premium compared to what they were, even factoring in inflation. Even though our interest rate is probably half of what theirs was, it's still pretty shocking and probably unsustainable.

More like $120,000.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by Lost Roses

More like $120,000.

Even that's not accurate since it assumes no appreciation in value. If someone invested $62,500 in the stock market in 1989, what do you think that's worth today?

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by emm74

even that's not accurate since it assumes no appreciation in value. If someone invested $62,500 in the stock market in 1989, what do you think that's worth today?

$6.25