Like he** I'm going to pay these prices! (Boston: to rent, insurance)

[MrDee12345]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

When you have a 350k home in MA, you can pay as little as 3k in property taxes if it is a more urban area.

In NJ, it can be more than 10k a year. Income Tax is higher, toll roads are insane.. costs me like $15 a day to go to work in tolls alone, NJ Transit doesnt serve really any viable commuting patterns interstate.

The burden in NJ is here, and real. And it definitely affects the middle/lower class quite a lot. To say its noticeably less than in MA is wrong, because I feel it and I make 50k including my stipend.

That's the argument I've been trying to make for a while now. Mass does have higher prices, but its lower taxes often offset the higher costs.

The one benefit, however, to a place like NJ or CT, is you don't need to save as much for your down payment. You may still pay as much in the long run, but those down payments can sometimes be murder.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

When you have a 350k home in MA, you can pay as little as 3k in property taxes if it is a more urban area.

In NJ, it can be more than 10k a year. Income Tax is higher, toll roads are insane.. costs me like $15 a day to go to work in tolls alone, NJ Transit doesnt serve really any viable commuting patterns interstate.

The burden in NJ is here, and real. And it definitely affects the middle/lower class quite a lot. To say its noticeably less than in MA is wrong, because I feel it and I make 50k including my stipend.

Multiple places this is a bad argument:

#1 a 350k home in MA and a 350k home in jersey are not equivalent. Much more for options for in NJ. You should be comparing at the median SFH home price for each state if you want to be serious.

#2 mill rate varies significantly from municipality to municipality

#3 a 350k home in NJ is gonna have you close to either Philly Trenton Newark or NYC- major job centers... a 350k homes in MA there's a high chance your commute is longer to a job center.

#4 NJ Transit is heavily used and to say it's non viable for commuting is more or less the total opposite of what I've heard people raised in NJ say and it just doesn't make logical sense. It also offers longer and more frequent services as well as statewide bus service. Add to this PATH, Newark City Subway and other things like higher capacity highways...you get what you pay for.

#5 you seen the price of parking in Boston? Or a monthly CR PASS? $15 in tolls is just the cost of doing business...

#6 it's a much much much more affordable renters market in NJ which is absolutely crucial for economic mobility and upward mobility. Also over just 40% of people rent in NJ. All the tax talk is more beneficial to an older, wealthier, Whiter audience but not most people sub 35 or POC -people who usually don't own. Aka the people who need the economic leg up more acutely..

#7 need a much larger downpayment shuts many first-time and would be buyers out of the housing market entirely in MA. That's a bigger kicker for some than the tax because they can't get their foot in the door (see: Boston Shudra right now)

Those are just 7 things that immediately jumped out at me

[Justabystander]

Going back to the original post, I just looked at Redfin at Lynn prices. I know Lynn wasn't great when I lived in Brookline a few years ago, but the prices were actually pretty reasonable, a decent size 3 bedroom house around $350k. Anyone in a tight real estate market ( and which ones aren't tight right now ) would be smart to befriend a good realtor who can let you in on pocket listings and a heads up on future listings. That way you can make some instant equity.

[yellowstatus]

I was shocked at how low the density of housing was in the Boston suburbs. Weston, Winchester, Concord, Lexington as prominent examples. A lot of the same dynamics as the Bay Area where existing residents like it just the way it is. Unsurprisingly, real estate prices go up with limited supply and robust demand. I've been a broken record the past 5 years, but I believe that Boston real estate remains a great investment even at these levels.

The implications are awful for middle income and lower households though. I can definitely see the appeal of moving to the midwest or mid-atlantic where costs are cheaper.

[yesmaybe]

Reason I mentioned the eviction ban is because I think you will see a fair amount of properties become available when/if LL's are able to get non-payers evicted.

[mp775]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

You’re your own worst enemy. Old time locals are glad we’re not building more because they want to live in an imaginary hamlet..but at the same time bemoan prices. It doesn’t make any sense. There is abundant space it’s just utilized terribly.

I can understand old timers opposed to building. What boggles my mind are people who move into a new subdivision, then complain when the woods behind their house suddenly become another new subdivision as if they were supposed to be the last ones to be allowed into the town.

[msRB311]

I guess i am that 42 year old 'old timer' who wants more trees than people and houses around

[id77]

Originally Posted by msRB311

People often point out that the high student population is the reason for the high costs but the student population has been high for decades. I think the tech/bio boom brought more people here and had more people stay after going to school here. People move here from all over the world.

You're on the right track here. The other part of the equation is the growing income inequality.

There's a concentration of medical, (bio) tech, and finance in the area, and they in turn attract more companies and workers from these fields until Boston has become a hotbed for them.

The kind of money that these professions make, even with only a few years experience, far surpasses what many other fields make with 20-30 years experience. 20 years ago, there was a close parity with the earning power of a tradesman, an accountant, and an engineer. Today, engineers often make more than the tradesman and accountant combined. It's that widening gap that's a big part of the affordability many face.

This is also why the exploding housing cost issue is only a major issue in select cities. NYC, SF, Seattle, LA, and Boston have seen some of the highest runs on housing prices in the last 20 years, but they're not the only major cities in the US. What do they have in common? If tech/finance falls in love with a new city, it takes off.

In the next 20 years, cities like Austin and SLC will join the ranks of being too expensive for most as tech runs them up, too.

[msRB311]

There's also always been lots of medical professionals in this area due to the hospitals so that's nothing new.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by id77

The kind of money that these professions make, even with only a few years experience, far surpasses what many other fields make with 20-30 years experience. 20 years ago, there was a close parity with the earning power of a tradesman, an accountant, and an engineer. Today, engineers often make more than the tradesman and accountant combined. It's that widening gap that's a big part of the affordability many face.

Not really. There are a lot more people with no kids and multiple incomes per household, ie: Recent College Grads with multiple roommates. Big Money buys properties and rents it out to them. Between that and the Fed pumping (and the demise of the US Dollar) makes buying assets that much more enticing.