Indiana making a rebound?

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

35k really isn't bad for Elkhart-Goshen. There are so many people that believe they by default should be making 50k a year just because and that's just not the case especially in today's financial times. Going by the wayside are the jobs that would pay 25 and hour to sit on an assembly line and do the same thing all day and honestly, those types of jobs have never been worth that price.

Originally Posted by REM

I know several people who've taken a pay cut already since right to work passed. Who cares if there are more jobs when at the end of the day there's less distribution of wealth statewide than ever before.

Those old prices drove up housing cost and many other things. Unless gas goes down in price, you are going to see an economy based on people driving to and from work, eating out maybe one time a week, and housing prices must come down. Housing prices will never recover with these new wages. My folks paid $60K for a nice all stone 2,000 sq. ft ranch back in the early 80s. I would say a Hamilton Co. premium would have pushed that price up to $70-$75K during the same time frame. If we are going to have a bunch of $30K/year jobs, with minimal over-time, home prices for such a house aren't going to be able to go over $100K-$120K. My parents home likely would have sold for $150Kish during the top of the bubble. A similar home in Carmel or Fishers at the time would have went for around $170K. Those prices are no longer sustainable. Right now the price for such homes in Carmel, Noblesville is right at $150K. That seems to be the wishful thinking price folks are hoping to get. There are more and more homes coming to the market at that price. Most folks are going to have to come to grips that when you ship off a bunch of $20+/hour jobs, the number of people that can afford your high price is much lower than before.

Originally Posted by msamhunter

The $25 union job sitting on the assembly line and putting in your piece for 8 hours are coming to an end. Outside of highly skilled occupations, people can expect new jobs to come in at a cheaper price more frequently. It's like taxes, you get what you pay for. You want a 1% property tax cap, expect education to suffer because of it.

Yes, but with lower paying jobs, home prices will have to be lower, but the cap still has to be around 1%, because folks aren't making enough to afford 2-4%, even if home values are driven down to $100-$120K.

[grmasterb]

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