Burlington home ownership single family. (Chittenden: low income, real estate, renters)

[emeraldl22]

I am a long time resident of Vermont and I have lived all over Chittenden County as a renter. In 2008 I moved further north in-order to purchase my first home. We wanted to build and Knew without even bothering to look that Burlington would have no open lots we could afford on my husbands income of 55 grand a year. Several years later I am living well in Northern Vermont on a income of 75 grand. Well enough that I thought maybe I could go back to Burlington. Unfortunately after doing some quick research I see that's not a possibility. This now has me very curious given that the average household income is less than 45 grand a year and the average home is over 300 grand, who is buying these houses? Is it just a fact that single family homes in Burlington a strictly for the wealthy? Where do middle class people with kids live? Do they just rent, pile kids up in a 2 bed condo? Its interesting because with just 30 miles id go from being middle class to being low income and in fact would qualify for some government programs.

[eqttrdr]

Originally Posted by emeraldl22

I am a long time resident of Vermont and I have lived all over Chittenden County as a renter. In 2008 I moved further north in-order to purchase my first home. We wanted to build and Knew without even bothering to look that Burlington would have no open lots we could afford on my husbands income of 55 grand a year. Several years later I am living well in Northern Vermont on a income of 75 grand. Well enough that I thought maybe I could go back to Burlington. Unfortunately after doing some quick research I see that's not a possibility. This now has me very curious given that the average household income is less than 45 grand a year and the average home is over 300 grand, who is buying these houses? Is it just a fact that single family homes in Burlington a strictly for the wealthy? Where do middle class people with kids live? Do they just rent, pile kids up in a 2 bed condo? Its interesting because with just 30 miles id go from being middle class to being low income and in fact would qualify for some government programs.

great question but I can say the same for everywhere that I have lived...


Average salary across the entire US is nowhere near high enough to afford the average home price.


From what I have seen in the 6 different states I have lived is that the wealthy own multiple homes all over the country while the average working-stiff rents.

Home ownership may be at an all time high, except its not MORE people owning homes, its the SAME rich people owning more homes, building and buying up all available land plots to buy and hold like some internet domain squatter

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by eqttrdr

great question but I can say the same for everywhere that I have lived...


Average salary across the entire US is nowhere near high enough to afford the average home price.


From what I have seen in the 6 different states I have lived is that the wealthy own multiple homes all over the country while the average working-stiff rents.

Home ownership may be at an all time high, except its not MORE people owning homes, its the SAME rich people owning more homes, building and buying up all available land plots to buy and hold like some internet domain squatter

I don't agree with this. High home prices are much to do with regulations making it difficult to build. San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Missoula, Boulder, Burlington have that in common. But this a good thing in a place like VT to prevent ugly sprawl. Popular places with tough environmental and building codes will always have higher home prices and rents then the median imcomes can suppprt. It has been this way for decades. Supply and demand. It has nothing to do with rich people buying multiple homes. There are a ton of cheap places in the U.S. that both lack demand and tough building codes. Try most of the Midwest, south and southwest.

[hebell]

I agree, eqttrdr. Those with more means, and usually older, are buying more properties to rent them out, myself included. When interest rates hover above zero, those with means will find any way to generate more recurrent income. I believe what you are seeing is a fallout of retirees and near-retirees, who have cash, working to get yield on their money. Unfortunately (as I see with my own daughter and her mid-20s cohorts) we are creating a nation of renters vs those who own multiple properties. I might also add that real estate investment trusts (REITS) are now scooping up portfolios of single family residence properties, whereas in the past they always wanted larger multiplexes. Never before have I seen REITS literally buying up houses in swaths of a city. What you conjecture is indeed happening.