How do people afford to live in Montgomery County? (Bethesda: sales, real estate)

[mayalisa]

I grew up in Montgomery County and lived there all my life, but it seems difficult to buy a home in this county. I am in my late 20’s and looking to settle down and start a family. I really would like to live in the area I grew up Cloverly/Colesville, MD. All the homes seem to be overpriced. Single family homes average around 400k and up. I looked up the average combined home income and it is around 120k per year. My combined home income is slightly above the average income for this area. When I budget other cost like PMI, utilities, student loans, car loan, insurance, groceries, Credit Cards, and spending money, I still can’t seem to afford to live in this area. I always dreamed of living in a single family home, but it seems like I am priced out of that market. I am forced to settle for a condo or small townhome in MoCo. I considered starting small like a condo, then upgrading to a single family home in the future, but how is that possible as the market continues to grow? I am worried if I decide to start small then upgrade to single, the prices of these homes in the area I am interested in will increase even more still leaving me in the dust.

I have started to consider PG as single family home prices are much more affordable and appear to be in good shape. How are people affording to live in this county?

[MikMal]

After living here in the DC Metro area for over 28 years, I still find it had to believe that there are as many good paying jobs out there for people to afford living in areas like Mont. Co, Annapolis, DC, etc. There seems to be an endless supply of wealth, I just don't know where all these great paying jobs are!

[badchad]

In general, out in the suburbs many people have dual incomes (e.g. two people working).

With a combined income of 120k, a 400k house is easily affordable. It just depends on where you want to spend your budget.

[mayalisa]

It seems like there is a lot of new development in MoCo, but all these new homes generally are townhomes with very small to no lots at all. Plus they are very overpriced. Example is Crown development in Gaithersburg, or the new Ryan homes in Burtonsville. These new homes are overpriced and don’t offer the privacy and space of existing single family homes.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by mayalisa

I grew up in Montgomery County and lived there all my life, but it seems difficult to buy a home in this county. I am in my late 20’s and looking to settle down and start a family. I really would like to live in the area I grew up Cloverly/Colesville, MD. All the homes seem to be overpriced. Single family homes average around 400k and up. I looked up the average combined home income and it is around 120k per year. My combined home income is slightly above the average income for this area. When I budget other cost like PMI, utilities, student loans, car loan, insurance, groceries, Credit Cards, and spending money, I still can’t seem to afford to live in this area. I always dreamed of living in a single family home, but it seems like I am priced out of that market. I am forced to settle for a condo or small townhome in MoCo. I considered starting small like a condo, then upgrading to a single family home in the future, but how is that possible as the market continues to grow? I am worried if I decide to start small then upgrade to single, the prices of these homes in the area I am interested in will increase even more still leaving me in the dust.

I have started to consider PG as single family home prices are much more affordable and appear to be in good shape. How are people affording to live in this county?

The Baby Boomers and their selfish politics have made it increasingly unaffordable for young people to enjoy even a fraction of the life they enjoyed. They truly are America's worst generation.

Montgomery is unaffordable because of policies that limit supply in the face of increasing demand.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by badchad

In general, out in the suburbs many people have dual incomes (e.g. two people working).

With a combined income of 120k, a 400k house is easily affordable. It just depends on where you want to spend your budget.

Not if you have student loans and other debt than you won't even qualify for the mortgage with that salary.

[mayalisa]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

Not if you have student loans and other debt than you won't even qualify for the mortgage with that salary.

You are right, that’s part of the new reality. Young people have so much debt after college, it's hard to find jobs, the ones that we do find don't pay well, and the cost of living is high. Many of my friends are moving to DC or PG because we just can't afford to live in Moco.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

The Baby Boomers and their selfish politics have made it increasingly unaffordable for young people to enjoy even a fraction of the life they enjoyed. They truly are America's worst generation.

I don't think it could have been said any better.

[reiflame]

I have a fairly high dual income household with no kids and 2 cats. I bought an older townhouse in Montgomery Village for $220k in 2004. I don't need single family home or a BMW. I drive a 2005 Corolla and my husband drives a 2010 Versa. I have a school loan that I consolidated at an embarrassingly low interest rate.

We do, however, take pretty opulent vacations and save a boatload of money. It's all about priorities. Mine were not kids, cars or fancy neighborhoods.

That said, I can't wait to move to Raleigh next month where our same salary does us a single family home in a nice neighborhood for the same amount I'm paying now. Maybe in a year if we feel like saving money, we'll move to a townhouse, but after 15 years of living around a ton of people, I'm ready for a year of privacy.

[Cheasare]

Originally Posted by mayalisa

I grew up in Montgomery County and lived there all my life, but it seems difficult to buy a home in this county. I am in my late 20’s and looking to settle down and start a family. I really would like to live in the area I grew up Cloverly/Colesville, MD. All the homes seem to be overpriced. Single family homes average around 400k and up. I looked up the average combined home income and it is around 120k per year. My combined home income is slightly above the average income for this area. When I budget other cost like PMI, utilities, student loans, car loan, insurance, groceries, Credit Cards, and spending money, I still can’t seem to afford to live in this area. I always dreamed of living in a single family home, but it seems like I am priced out of that market. I am forced to settle for a condo or small townhome in MoCo. I considered starting small like a condo, then upgrading to a single family home in the future, but how is that possible as the market continues to grow? I am worried if I decide to start small then upgrade to single, the prices of these homes in the area I am interested in will increase even more still leaving me in the dust.

I have started to consider PG as single family home prices are much more affordable and appear to be in good shape. How are people affording to live in this county?

Well if you're spending resources on student loans, car loan and credit cards that money is unavailable for a larger mortgage payment. So yeah you'll probably have to start with a condo/townhome. The other option is to find an old fixer upper in a solid neighborhood. It'll take time to fix it up, but in the long run you'll be getting the best bang for your buck.

I get Rozansky's real estate sales report once a quarter. It covers Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Potomac. A little house (10015 Sinnott Ct.) in Bethesda sold for $440K. It'll probably be a tear down like others in that neighborhood but in the long run it'll work out to be a great deal for the owners because of the location/area.

C.