Those fancy new apartments in Seaport and Fenway almost all young folks. (Quincy: mortgage, how much)

[Moh1988]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

$2400 for the year on that, then add in the netflix and hello fresh subscriptions, plus whatever else...yep in a few years of cutting back on most of that they could have instead been putting 5 or 10% down on a place. You don't need to have 20%, many first time buyers don't.

Yes, you need 20% in this state! Definitely in towns close to Boston! Nobody is looking into an offer of less than 20% nowadays in Boston.
Everyone just says stuff to boost their argument. Again, saving $2400 a year will not move a needle in this market.
And most importantly, not everyone wants to buy a house. If I were in my 20s,,, just graduated college,,, got a job in Boston,,, making $120k per year,,, Yes, I would live by myself in a nice apartment in the Seaport paying $3-4k per month. I mean there are not a lot of options anyway (Its up to $2600 per month in Malden nowadays).

[Shizim]

I don't know if anyone getting money from their parents for rent in Boston. I'm sure it happens I just don't think it's prevalent.

TBH, and I'm not accusing anyone, whenever I hear that statement it just reeks of sour grapes.

[msRB311]

I for one know of quite a few people who got a house/condo through an inheritance or who have parents that pay their rent/mortgage.

I would imagine there's also plenty of people who don't come out and tell others when their rent is being paid for by mom and dad...particularly men who are in their 20's and dating. Call it sour grapes or whatever you want...I for one was surprised when i got into my 20's and came across more and more people (who get younger and younger) with rich parents paying their way. I wouldn't say i felt sour grapes but more like, wow would be nice to have that.. .but not negative feelings, just that they are lucky - won the lottery type lucky. Oh well, such is life.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by redplum33

My point is that you'd likely have a different view if your social circle was in Revere.

Can confirm. Grew up in Revere and parents didn't buy kids squat. The parents were usually struggling themselves. You got a job and bought a $500 crapbox as your first car. A lot of kids i knew didn't go to college because they had to work full-time to pay for an apartment and/or kid they had themselves at 18.

This whole "parents pay for everything" phenomenon is something I didn't experience until I changed social circles in my mid 20's. Now, i know plenty of folks who tell me their pay for their kids college and/or apartment while in college like it's no big deal and expected. We've hired more than a few co-op's who's parents pay for their apartment for 6 months so they can relocate from their college campus if it's not local.

[msRB311]

I'm actually sitting in the waiting room of a hospital right now and a guy is bragging about a job he had for 6 years that he could work from home and it helped him be able to give his son and daughter money for a house. Omg. The woman he is telling is just a random person also waiting. Glad I get to hear his career history.

[bostongymjunkie]

Lots of mommy and daddy dollars floating around this city. Living their lives vicariously through their ever so special children.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Moh1988

Yes, you need 20% in this state! Definitely in towns close to Boston! Nobody is looking into an offer of less than 20% nowadays in Boston.
Everyone just says stuff to boost their argument. Again, saving $2400 a year will not move a needle in this market.
And most importantly, not everyone wants to buy a house. If I were in my 20s,,, just graduated college,,, got a job in Boston,,, making $120k per year,,, Yes, I would live by myself in a nice apartment in the Seaport paying $3-4k per month. I mean there are not a lot of options anyway (Its up to $2600 per month in Malden nowadays).

$4K/month at $120K a year is 40% of your (before tax) income. Even in my 20s I wasn't that foolish.


And there's 33 listings for $2200/month and under for Malden alone. The idea that one HAS to spend over $3k/month and live in the Seaport is an absurd one.

[Space_League]

There are a lot of people making good money these days. I'm not that old but even when I was a kid the gold standard was 6 figure salary. Someone's dad making 200-300k meant they were a rich kid. These days tons of young kids in their 20s make that kind of money or more.

[charolastra00]

A lot of my coworkers live in the Seaport, especially if they are on the younger (<30) or older (>55) side. For those on the younger side, they're often splitting a 2 bedroom with a roommate or a 1 bed/studio with a partner. Typically both are making 6 figures at 25-30 (pharma, finance, etc), so it's a bit more reasonable to split. Yes, they could live in Quincy or Malden for a bit cheaper to save more, but they are making a ton of money while so young and this may be their last chance for decades to live a 5 minute walk to work in the center of lots to do. They save a lot of time and money not having to commute.

And for that older crowd, now that they're empty nesters they can afford to sell the house in Natick, Wayland, Sudbury, or Beverly and buy/rent an apartment in the Seaport with a pull out couch for when the kids come to visit.

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

I hear a lot from some of my first time buyer colleagues that their parents or in laws handed over down payment funds so they could buy a house in Medford, Malden, etc. Their salaries allow them to afford the monthly payment but they don't have the down payment is the issue. It seems parents feel bad about the high prices of rent and fork over the money for them. These are people in their late twenties. I'm not that much older than them and I never would have expected getting a handout for a down payment from family when I was in my late twenties. When I tell them I've already bought and sold around 5 properties with no down payment assistance they are like in awe. Maybe if they cut back on the avocado toasts and stuff at the coffee shops in downtown they could've saved up enough down payment to buy a few years back themselves?!

You could spend $100 on avocado toast and takeout a day for 2 years and what you'd spend would still not have been enough for a down payment/closing cost for a starter home now, plus the monthly payment (especially for that far under 20%) would be significantly more than renting. It would take 3+ years at that rate to save a 20% downpayment. Given the competitiveness in the market, especially at the entry points, it's *much* more challenging to get an offer accepted for less than 20% down.

If someone's parents can help with a downpayment, why not? It keeps wealth in the family rather than handed over to landlords. I'm doing it all on my own and let me tell you, no amount of pride of doing it this way would overshadow what help would have allowed me to do: have children before "geriatric pregnancy" age, not get $300/mo annual rent increases, locked-in interest rates and low monthly payments.

[msRB311]

I think people are missing the point with the avocado toast lol. Not to mention money spent on other food items and drinks probably.

I also don't think anyone is knocking anyone or blaming anyone for getting money from family for rent and down payments. Lucky them but it certainly doesnt help in terms of supply/demand and rising prices. The price of real estate/rent continues to go up with supply and demand. If everyone's wealthy parents keep giving them money then real estate prices will continue to stay very high. The area seems to attract wealthier people so anyone who isn't wealthy and getting money from parents here are going to continue to be porked on COL.

People whine all the time about unfair advantages. Apparently inherited wealth will never be deemed unfair but advantages gained through skin color, nepotism, gender, income, number of kids, etc are fair game.