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The most liked comment made a good point. The couple grew up in subsidized housing and were the first in family to go to college. They didn't have the financial literacy that many solidly middle class people often pick up from their parents.
I don't think people realize that there is more to being middle class than just income. There are a set of values and behaviors that go along with being middle class as well.
YES!!!!! I have been saying this for years! Many of us black people are the first in our families to own property, businesses, get educated, etc. There aren't past generations of family to fall back on to understand this process. That is why I applaud the county for making it a requirement for new homeowners that got grants to take education courses. I think those classes are invaluable. These people are no more victims than individuals who sign up for title loans or high interest rate credit cards. You have to educate yourself through the process. Buying a house is the most important and most expensive decision most people will ever make, you need to know what you are doing because it can affect your family for generations.
Even though some of the narrative has been repeated what made this article different is that experts are forecasting that the recovery won't happen for long time and hasn't been happening.
Quote:
Jennifer Bryant grew up in Prince George’s County, living in a Seat Pleasant apartment complex with her mother and brother. “All I ever experienced was apartment living,” she said. “We moved from one part of the complex to another.” Her father died when she was just 5, and her mother was a homemaker who poured her energies into seeing to it that her children had it better than she did.
This was the first thing that stood out to me. This is a typical Washington Post spin job. Her father died when she was 5, but her mom was a homemaker????? It's possible that they lived off of her father's life insurance payment, job payout, saving or something in that vain, but the fact that she admitted that she basically did not live beyond apartment living is important to note here. If her mother didn't work and change their economic situation then she may not have had anyone to lean on to understand how to deal with life as a homeowner or making financially sound decisions. Not a criticism, but just something to consider about the decision making. They were living beyond their means.
Most eye-popping point in the article:
Quote:
Then the bust came. In 2009, Reston prices bottomed out at $360,000. In Bowie, they fell much farther, dropping to about $330,000 in 2012 — nearly half.
By 2014, Reston prices bounced back to within $65,000 of their peak, while prices in the Bowie Zip code were still nearly $300,000 below their high point.
Wow! Just wow! I can't even imagine how those individuals feel. I already know based on the information given that they are likely referring to the 20720 zip code in Bowie that includes Fairwood, that is a largely a black community. These are just averages. There are people that lost even more money than that.
I feel for the couple that is in the article. I have been in a similar position as them, dealing with deciding where is the best place to live for your family. I would argue though I think too many black families are caught up in the newness of the new beautiful subdivisions in PG County. I think most of them are poor investments in the county. Most people do not account for other factors that affects property value besides the quality of the home. You have to think about schools, even when you don't have kids or don't have any going to those schools because people make their decisions off of that. Families deciding oh I will send my kids to private school, doesn't make sense in deciding if buying a home is a good decision or not. Some of the amount that you pay for these private schools equal the amount extra that you would pay for going to another, less black county and those places will likely hold their value more.
So then is it about being around other black people? Understandable. All races behave that way. That isn't unique for blacks and there is a segment of white people who will indeed move if you move in their neighborhood, but consider this, buying in minority neighborhoods are bad investment. Until we get to a point in this country where most white people are comfortable living around minorities (will probably never happen), you will have a limited demand just as the article mentioned. What is the solution? I don't know. I think everyone has to do what makes them comfortable, but if you buy a house in one of these neighborhoods and expect a return on your investment, then you are a lost cause.
Last edited by justtitans; 01-25-2015 at 02:57 PM..
Reason: Correct zip code
YES!!!!! I have been saying this for years! Many of us black people arethefirst in our families to own property, businesses, get educated, etc. There aren't past generations of family to fall back on to understand this process. That is why I applaud the county for making it a requirement for new homeowners that got grants to take education courses. I think those classes are invaluable. These people are no more victims than individuals who sign up for title loans or high interest rate credit cards. You have to educate yourself through the process. Buying a house is the most important and most expensive decision most people will ever make, you need to know what you are doing because it can affect your family for generations.
What makes anyone think that poor whites are any different as far as what I bolded? It may have come a generation earlier but not much different.
I guess I could have asked my mother's parents who lost a succession of farms and other properties. The only reason my own father went to college for a couple semesters was the WW II GI Bill.
What makes anyone think that poor whites are any different as far as what I bolded? It may have come a generation earlier but not much different.
I guess I could have asked my mother's parents who lost a succession of farms and other properties. The only reason my own father went to college for a couple semesters was the WW II GI Bill.
They aren't but white people aren't as proportionately poor as blacks are. There are poor white people who have the same issue, but think about the fact that white wealth is 22 times more than black wealth. A lot of that stems from what past generations have done in your family. No race is immune to that, but the fact remains, blacks are behind on these things. There are inherently cultural factors that influence these decisions too.
Even though some of the narrative has been repeated what made this article different is that experts are forecasting that the recovery won't happen for long time and hasn't been happening.
This was the first thing that stood out to me. This is a typical Washington Post spin job. Her father died when she was 5, but her mom was a homemaker????? It's possible that they lived off of her father's life insurance payment, job payout, saving or something in that vain, but the fact that she admitted that she basically did not live beyond apartment living is important to note here. If her mother didn't work and change their economic situation then she may not have had anyone to lean on to understand how to deal with life as a homeowner or making financially sound decisions. Not a criticism, but just something to consider about the decision making. They were living beyond their means.
Most eye-popping point in the article:
Wow! Just wow! I can't even imagine how those individuals feel. I already know based on the information given that they are likely referring to the 20715 zip code in Bowie that include Fairwood, that is a largely a black community. These are just averages. There are people that lost even more money than that.
I feel for the couple that is in the article. I have been in a similar position as them, dealing with deciding where is the best place to live for your family. I would argue though I think too many black families are caught up in the newness of the new beautiful subdivisions in PG County. I think most of them are poor investments in the county. Most people do not account for other factors that affects property value besides the quality of the home. You have to think about schools, even when you don't have kids or don't have any going to those schools because people make their decisions off of that. Families deciding oh I will send my kids to private school, doesn't make sense in deciding if buying a home is a good decision or not. Some of the amount that you pay for these private schools equal the amount extra that you would pay for going to another, less black county and those places will likely hold their value more.
So then is it about being around other black people? Understandable. All races behave that way. That isn't unique for blacks and there is a segment of white people who will indeed move if you move in their neighborhood, but consider this, buying in minority neighborhoods are bad investment. Until we get to a point in this country where most white people are comfortable living around minorities (will probably never happen), you will have a limited demand just as the article mentioned. What is the solution? I don't know. I think everyone has to do what makes them comfortable, but if you buy a house in one of these neighborhoods and expect a return on your investment, then you are a lost cause.
Fairwood isnt 20715 zipcode...
Most homes in Bowie are avg 300k includes the "levitt Style" and the 1990s-2000s construction homes throughout the town... The fact is most homes that were going for $1million are now 1/2 of that..same goes with Laurel and Upper Marlboro and certain parts of Ft Washington.
Woodmore North was pushing high 900s to millions when 1st constructed in 2006, now they are going for 1/2 that..
I think PG can rebound.. there are new construction homes in subdivsions that are pushing around mid 500s and up (Beechwood in Upper Marlboro, Bentley Park in Laurel, Fairwood in Bowie, Brickyard Station in Beltsville) that are luring Back and White families.
Also does anyone think that these homes circa early to mid 2000s have something to with the Jack Johnson corruption era??
I've "only" lived in PG for 12 years, and even I am getting tired of this.
It's part of the reason I didn't want to move to the county in the first place. The put upon, down trodden "step-child" of the region mantra is beyond getting old.
But like others, I moved here because it had the most affordable housing options for me. And there ARE WHITE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING TO PG COUNTY. I know crazy, right? who knew Many PG neighborhoods are quite nice and doing quite well. Are they Bethesda or Chevy Chase? no.....but I'd choose them over parts of Wheaten, Takoma Park, or Rockville.....
I'm not sure too many people would want to live in Bethesda or Chevy Chase either. Who would choose the most expensive places to live with the culture that brings? I enjoy solidly middle class surroundings where I can relax and not pay exorbitant prices for everything because the neighborhood I live in is exclusionary.
referring to the 20715 zip code in Bowie that include Fairwood
Are you saying it's not in 20715? You are right, I forgot it's in 20716. I corrected it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EducatedBro82
Woodmore North was pushing high 900s to millions when 1st constructed in 2006, now they are going for 1/2 that..
I think PG can rebound.. there are new construction homes in subdivsions that are pushing around mid 500s and up (Beechwood in Upper Marlboro, Bentley Park in Laurel, Fairwood in Bowie, Brickyard Station in Beltsville) that are luring Back and White families.
Based on what? Real Estate experts quoted in the article disagree and don't think it will happen anytime soon. I am curious to know why you disagree with them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EducatedBro82
Also does anyone think that these homes circa early to mid 2000s have something to with the Jack Johnson corruption era??
It's not all him. I think it is a combination of poor marketing (marketing the county to a limited demographic), poor leadership (Jack Johnson has his part in it, but you can blame a lot of others), and uneducated buyers.
Are you saying it's not in 20715? You are right, I forgot it's in 20716.
Based on what? Real Estate experts quoted in the article disagree and don't think it will happen anytime soon. I am curious to know why you disagree with them.
It's not all him. I think it is a combination of poor marketing (marketing the county to a limited demographic), poor leadership (Jack Johnson has his part in it, but you can blame a lot of others), and uneducated buyers.
Fairwood is 20720 zipcode. anything west of 450 is 20720, south of 50 is 20716 and Central Avenue is 20721..
Im not saying I disagree with the Real Estate experts, but home values are typically higher "outside" the beltway as they are desirable areas. Not to mention there are more homeowner programs, Homebuying educational seminars than there were 10 years ago. Rushern Baker also is cleaning up what Jack Johnson destroyed and is luring more developers (National Harbor, Konterra etc)
I think the overall point of the article is that Prince George's County hasn't rebounded as fast as the other counties. While it is a story that has been recycled for about 5 years now, despite the wealth, the county is not as wealthy as it COULD be all things being equal in the current economic recovery.
I'm pretty sure wealthy people are "still here." But if the rebound was equal, they all would be wealthier in terms of home equity.
But Prince Georges County was NEVER as wealthy as Moco or Nova even before the Boom or Bust. Besides when it was booming everyone on here claimed the blacks weren't really 'wealthy" just "house rich", and were saying that house equity is false wealth...now were judging wealth on house equity? Besides someone just made a thread on here a month ago about building a million dollar home in Howard County and how they have to move but the house is only worth 850k. This is Howard county with a high household income and "Great Public School System"
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who knew
