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I think OP agrees by now, with all the 12 pages of discussion in this thread, that buying a house on a 50K income is simply not feasible.
What troubles me are the posters in this thread who argue 'apples and oranges' with respect to how things were cheaper 20-40 years ago. If you watch the recent Frontline documentary, "Two American Families" - it will highlight how 2 families (1 black, 1 white) have struggled to make ends meet since 1991. Here is a direct link:
The reality is that - times ARE tough right now for Generation Y and it has nothing to do with laziness. Those of you who argue "but..but..but..these kids now get iPads in 2nd grade, new phones every X months, unlimited internet, etc, etc" are confusing the advanced pace of technology for better quality of life. To some extent, thats no longer true. As pointed out earlier, a BA is considered the same as a HS diploma in many industries. IT jobs are constantly outsourced overseas, forcing low level IT and admin jobs to be vanish overnight across major cities. Many manufacturing and automotive tech jobs have disappeared overnight as companies look to lower labor costs by using robots. Pensions are becoming a thing of the past. Companies look for shortcuts to avoid paying health benefits by hiring more seasonal/part time workers. More households than ever before are sustained with dual incomes, it is extremely rare for 1 parent to just stay at home with the kids while the other goes to work full time.
The fact is - while today's generation is enjoying the fruits of a more connected society with better communication and mass transit options, they are paying it in the form of increased student loan debt. Economists recently came out with stats showing how the cost of a tuition at your average college increased 128% more than the cost of inflation. This is not a question of students being misled by media/parents to buy into the educational complex. The reality is the demands of the job market now require college - and students across all socio-economic spectrums interested in those higher paying careers now must account for that new "mortgage sized monthly payment" after graduation. Even kids who "did it right" by going to community college, cheaper state colleges, or using max financial aid/scholarships/grants to get a degree - are still struggling to buy a home or live on their own when most entry level salaries either pay minimum wage or less. Minimum wage jobs leave millions in poverty - Sep. 27, 2011
Lets also not forget to address the elephant in the room: the number of people in the work force is much higher than in the 70s/80s. The boomers arent retiring (because they are living longer or want to work until 67/70 to cash Soc Security at the max), teenagers want to work on those resumes starting at age 15, and current workers now have to compete with students from India, China, Japan, Germany that come to the US for a degree and decide to stay. http://www.prb.org/pdf08/63.2uslabor.pdf
The Bureau of Labor Stats have stated 40 million people will enter the workforce but only 25 million will leave. Overall, the competition is just more fierce in the job market.
So, as someone who was born in the late 70s, I completely empathize with today's generation - because they really DO have it harder.
Pretty much the best summary I've read on what my generation is going through.
Many manufacturing and automotive tech jobs have disappeared overnight as companies look to lower labor costs by using robots. Pensions are becoming a thing of the past. Companies look for shortcuts to avoid paying health benefits by hiring more seasonal/part time workers.
Mayor bloomberg said it best "if you're a so-so student in HS avoid college and become a plumber". It saves wasted time, student loans and provides a nice life. Gen x will be remembered for dropping the physically taxing careers to work in a cubicle and struggle for promotion and believe their life is better because of it.
Heh, its not just BigLaw. My old insurance defense firm canned 15 lawyers over 2 months when a client decided to take all their files back in-house to save $$. Even small firms and solos are struggling to stay afloat as regular people/future would-be clients resort to using LegalZoom.com or local relatives for legal help. Don't get me started on the law school scam and to some extent, the futility of an MBA degree from a no-name institution .
We are parents, and we would not let our kid come back home to live just because he wants to buy a house, and his girlfriend has student loans.
Sorry, but there's this little thing called reality and adulthood, and he simply can't afford the house that he wants on $50k. I'm certainly not going to enable him by having him move in with us, when we are enjoying our empty nest.
I bought my first house when I was single, making $40k. The house cost $40k and it was on the edge of a questionable neighborhood, but it was still my house, I could afford my car payment, electric, water, cable, food, entertainment, etc., without living paycheck to paycheck, and I could also afford homeowner emergencies.
Kids have to learn to grow up and get what they can afford, instead of leaning on Mommy & Daddy. My kids are 28 & 24 and both are renting, one has two kids and the other is single and about to buy her first house for $50k, and she makes $25k. We help them out when it's feasible, but not when there's something they could do on their own, or if some mindsets need to be changed to be more realistic.
Touchy subject, but I'll give it a go. You can see it as enabling your kids, but if they are not freeloading at home (still doing chores and paying some bills to help out), I would absolutely do it for my kids. The same kids I had worked hard to support throughout their childhood. Your statement about enjoying your empty nest says something. I wouldn't even think about that being a factor if my kid could use my help (again, not freeloading with no aspirations). Just because you or anybody else had to make it from near nothing doesn't mean everybody else should. Perhaps if your parents sheltered you longer (if they could) and gave you a different/better path, you would think differently. You speak about reality, but it was only your reality and not necessarily everybody else's. If you kick them out, you're forcing it on them - that's not reality either.
To allow your kid to return after college for a few years while working full-time is in the name of helping them put a good sized down payment on their 1st home and start a family. Do I have rosy-colored glasses or does that actually happen? Yes, all the time from where I sit and people I know.
Late 20s and renting, throwing money down a pit is commonplace partly because parents feel "it builds character". With tuition costs these days, who can catch up? Versus a 28yo having a house (in a good area) and able to support a family of their own already because they had help when it came to savings. If you had a say in that, I don't know why you would allow the former. I mean, what do we actually live for? Does your happiness & enjoyment in your kids' success wane as you grow older?
Touchy subject, but I'll give it a go. You can see it as enabling your kids, but if they are not freeloading at home (still doing chores and paying some bills to help out), I would absolutely do it for my kids. The same kids I had worked hard to support throughout their childhood. Your statement about enjoying your empty nest says something. I wouldn't even think about that being a factor if my kid could use my help (again, not freeloading with no aspirations). Just because you or anybody else had to make it from near nothing doesn't mean everybody else should. Perhaps if your parents sheltered you longer (if they could) and gave you a different/better path, you would think differently. You speak about reality, but it was only your reality and not necessarily everybody else's. If you kick them out, you're forcing it on them - that's not reality either.
To allow your kid to return after college for a few years while working full-time is in the name of helping them put a good sized down payment on their 1st home and start a family. Do I have rosy-colored glasses or does that actually happen? Yes, yes it does.
Late 20s and renting, throwing money down a pit is commonplace partly because parents feel "it builds character". With tuition costs these days, who can catch up? Versus a 28yo having a house (in a good area) and able to support a family of their own already because they had help when it came to savings. If you had a say in that, I don't know why you would allow the former. I mean, what do we actually live for? Does your happiness & enjoyment in your kids' success wane as you grow older?
What you say is very true. Like most kids I didnt move out at 18. Living with the folks til 26 allowed me to buy my first 2 places. If i had left home, I'd had never had the $$ to do that. It isnt laziness or a lack of motivation- it's a smart move. If more kids lived at home til their mid-late 20's they perhaps wouldnt have to resort to renting for so long.
Does your happiness & enjoyment in your kids' success wane as you grow older?
No, absolutely not. Perhaps because my kids are older and stable now, that's where my remark comes from. They are doing just fine, but then they didn't ask to come home so they could afford a $400k house on a $50k salary. And neither has student loans, they went to local schools instead of to bigger, expensive out-of-state schools, so my situation really doesn't compare, to be honest.
That's not to say I don't help them out when needed. They've stayed here between apartments, or when they were closing on their house. I've helped them buy cars when they needed me to. But overall, they want to do it themselves.
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This is not a question of students being misled by media/parents to buy into the educational complex. The reality is the demands of the job market now require college - and students across all socio-economic spectrums interested in those higher paying careers now must account for that new "mortgage sized monthly payment" after graduation. Even kids who "did it right" by going to community college, cheaper state colleges, or using max financial aid/scholarships/grants to get a degree - are still struggling to buy a home or live on their own when most entry level salaries either pay minimum wage or less. 
On the contrary
