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Buying expensive is tough, but one REALLY doesn't want to stretch to buy and then hit a 5-10% price decline, cause that is financial gridlock where you are underwater in your house and can't get out if you need to for some reason (like you also lose a job) without really taking a big hit. If my stocks go down 25-30%, I'm still better off than someone who used their stock funds to buy a house that dropped 10%.
IMO housing as an investment is way too risky right now. As a consumption good, it's overpriced for what you get, so unless you are locked into a life scenario where you need a house, just rent till more options open up or you can move to a better COL spot, which for CO means off the front range and out of the I 70 area. There's still affordable CO, you just have to basically sacrifice urban life.
I'm not going to get into a debate with all you naysayers who just want to whine and moan about how hard it is. Times change and we aren't going back to the way it was before. If people think the youth deserve things put on a platter for them and things should be easy or not difficult, unfortunately that is not how things are going to go and there is nothing you can do to reverse that. Not saying kids these days should be able to buy a house at a young age, but just think about it, if housing was so unafforable that few could do it, what would happen to housing prices?
People complain and say this is impossible, but then something gets into most of them to say well it is what it is and I'll figure out a way to own a house. It will be at the low end of the price spectrum probably and likely won't be in the most desirable area, but that's just how its always been done. And for those who don't? The cost of housing is always going to be a pain point as rents will relentlessly rise. They can blame others for the unfairness of it all, but it is what it is and no politician's promises are going to change that.
My husband and I are Denver natives. We love it here qnd have never lived anywhere else. We don't want to leave. But we've hit a wall. We will never ever be able to afford a home in Denver or any of the surrounding suburbs. And so we are moving to coastal Alabama. We are terrified and sad but at least there we can own a home and cash in on some of our townhouse equity to invest in our retirement. It's hard to be displaced from your own hometown. I am a physical therapist assistant and my husband is a bartender/resturant manager. I guess my question is what is going to happen when regular folks like us are priced out. We make a around 115k. That should not preclude people from home ownership in a safe area. I tell myself I don't like Denver as much anymore or what it is becoming but I think I tell myself that so that leaving hurts a little less
I'm not going to get into a debate with all you naysayers who just want to whine and moan about how hard it is. Times change and we aren't going back to the way it was before. If people think the youth deserve things put on a platter for them and things should be easy or not difficult, unfortunately that is not how things are going to go and there is nothing you can do to reverse that. Not saying kids these days should be able to buy a house at a young age, but just think about it, if housing was so unafforable that few could do it, what would happen to housing prices?
People complain and say this is impossible, but then something gets into most of them to say well it is what it is and I'll figure out a way to own a house. It will be at the low end of the price spectrum probably and likely won't be in the most desirable area, but that's just how its always been done. And for those who don't? The cost of housing is always going to be a pain point as rents will relentlessly rise. They can blame others for the unfairness of it all, but it is what it is and no politician's promises are going to change that.
Care to address my first post in the thread pointing out that it’s in the hard numbers that we’ve been under building for the past decade? Do you really not realize this same phenomenon is happening nationwide and worldwide? Are you really incapable of thinking in systemic terms?
My husband and I are Denver natives. We love it here qnd have never lived anywhere else. We don't want to leave. But we've hit a wall. We will never ever be able to afford a home in Denver or any of the surrounding suburbs. And so we are moving to coastal Alabama. We are terrified and sad but at least there we can own a home and cash in on some of our townhouse equity to invest in our retirement. It's hard to be displaced from your own hometown. I am a physical therapist assistant and my husband is a bartender/resturant manager. I guess my question is what is going to happen when regular folks like us are priced out. We make a around 115k. That should not preclude people from home ownership in a safe area. I tell myself I don't like Denver as much anymore or what it is becoming but I think I tell myself that so that leaving hurts a little less
As someone who was a CO native who recently moved to the southeast, there's some things that you'll miss, but there's a whole new world to explore down there! I spend as much time outside in Atlanta as I did in Denver, the greenery and flora is amazing. With that income, it'll be more comfortable in AL than in Denver, though there isn't all the big city amenities.
First of all... it's extremely hard but it can be done. Hubby and I bought a house in our 20s in a high COL area and it was TOUGH (we paid ~425k). It was tiny and dumpy. We had to do all of the work it needed ourselves (at least we had time since it was pre-kids) and I maintained a spreadsheet of every dollar that we spent on anything because things were tight. Home ownership was a priority (for him more than me at the time) so we pivoted our lifestyle to make it work. Like most real estate, with time it appreciated. We paid PMI for a while because we didn't put 20% down, and made it a point to drive our careers in a direction that enabled us to increase our income significantly. Now in our 30s, our first house could fit into our current basement 3x. And we both make over 3x what we did then.
I hope my kids have the same grit when they are at home buying age, decide to work in a high paying field... but as backup, once we're done paying for high quality early childcare (why does care for babies and toddlers cost the same as Harvard?) we will shovel extra money into investments to ensure we can help them as adults. I don't want one of my kids to not be able to afford a house because she decided to pursue a career as a teacher, and I'm pretty sure the housing market will only continue to inflate over time.
Anyone who is saying that anyone can afford a nice house in a nice, high COL area is lying to themselves. I do believe that anyone can choose to pursue a line of work that would afford them this opportunity - but that takes time, planning, commitment to career, and general good decisions (like not getting into 200k of student loan debt for an average degree).
Care to address my first post in the thread pointing out that it’s in the hard numbers that we’ve been under building for the past decade? Do you really not realize this same phenomenon is happening nationwide and worldwide? Are you really incapable of thinking in systemic terms?
Lol ok. I already addressed that and said they haven't added enough condo units because of defect laws. What else can you do? If there aren't enough units prices will go up until the high costs deter people from moving and encourage others to move elsewhere.
I have a degree in Economics from a pretty good school and still read a lot on the subject. I work as a consultant to major mortgage companies and REITs in helping them obtain financing. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do these things without thinking pretty systemically. What are your qualifications other than being bitter about how things have changed in Denver and Colorado?
Yes, but my kids are not beholden to this state and may go wherever they wish guilt-free if we still live here a decade from now, which I'm not sure we will as we're traveling to other places and exploring other options in warmer areas.
We moved to the springs, and one set of parents followed. The others tried to make us feel guilty about being so, "far." I will never do that to my children.
I hear you. I live in a home (duplex) that would probably be a great starter home for someone. I was open to moving farther away from Denver due to my current work from home situation, but I can’t afford the type of home I would want in the areas I’d want to move to, even on my salary. I work in tech so I earn a salary that is higher than the average salary in Metro Denver. In normal cases, I might have “moved up” to a different house already, but in this case, I can’t afford $800K for a home in Evergreen (for example), even on my salary, and I don’t want to downsize to a condo (which I could afford) just to move to a place like Evergreen. Definitely NOT looking for pity as my situation is way better than most, but just saying that I think the current market conditions have caused a lot of people who currently own homes that would be a good “first home” for someone to put any plans to move on hold for now.
I'm sort of in the same situation, including the housing set up. I'm not working from home, but my sister (who lives with me) has been ever since the pandemic, and it doesn't look like she's going to get called back into the office any time soon, if ever.
If she doesn't have to go back, I'm open to moving a little further out and doing a longer commute for myself, since somebody would be home with the dogs during the day, so no having to either pay somebody to let them out, or rush home over a lunch break. I'd also like a larger lot of land--don't get me wrong, my neighbors are very nice. If there's a silver lining to the pandemic, it's that all of us working from home and walking our dogs around during the day got us knowing each other. So I'd miss them.....but at the same time, I'd like a bit more space between us and the other houses. Plus, my sister *loves* to garden (I love to, as well, I just suck at it, LOL.) We have a yard, but it isn't very large, and she's pretty much taken up all available planting space as it is.
But the problem is, striking a balance between our needs and wants on that. While I wouldn't be adverse to a longer drive, there's also making sure the area in question has good internet (so that my sister can work from home, no problem). Go out too far, and it can become an issue. And then there's price, of course. I could *possibly* swing $750,000, but would I want to, in case the housing market drops? On the other hand, what if it only gets more insane from here, and $750,000 ends up being a bargain price for half of what I'd want?
We're at least in a good situation, and until I get more indication as to what her job's going to do, I figure no point making a decision. But I do look around to see what's out there that matches the criteria I've set for us, just in case.
This is an increasing concern of mine. Home prices are so high here, I believe Denver will be a HCOL city from now on. We've been here for 20 years and like it, but I worry about how my kids will afford to live here down the road. Anyone else? We've considered relocation many times over the years but have never pulled the trigger. I see coworkers/neighbors with older kids still living at home and/or kids moving out of state even though they don't want to, to be able to afford housing. What is your experience? Share your thoughts!
I don't have kids, but my sister moved out here several years ago for a job, and has been living with me ever since. Her salary is decent enough, but she can't afford to live on her own here, and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon. I think we had both figured that by now, she would've been able to get her own apartment, but that's not happening.
She does like having a roommate, but at the same time, she feels a little bummed that she's had to live with a family member all her life to help make ends meet. But the catch of her field is that any city that has plenty of jobs in her field is also a high COL.
As for me, I'm more worried about the water situation and the wildfire situation. My sister has asthma, so the smoke isn't helping her any. There's been times I've wondered if it'd be best to pick up and move elsewhere, but I've been here over 20 years, and am really pretty settled in. One of my friends joked everybody thinks I'm native here because I have friends all over the state. (I am guilty of saying things like, "Oh, I have a friend in Ramah, if you go by there....") So leaving would be.....hard. I don't like the thought of it.
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So leaving would be.....hard. I don't like the thought of it. 
