It's all the babyboomers fault! (accuse, racism, wisdom, private school)

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by cil

How did our parents' generation instill gluttony? Do you mean because we were so indulged in the first place? Could be.

Yes, my meaning was that the parents of Boomers provided too much to us, not out of ignorance but with good intentions. After all, they had lived through the Great Depression and WWII, so they were naturally inclined, as parents, to want their children to have happier lives. They had no way of foreseeing what the over-indulgence of our generation would lead to because it was fairly unprecedented. They couldn't have realized that hardship and challenge are necessary aspects of human growth, and many of us were deprived of deprivation. An interesting twist on an old problem.

A bit of deprivation is needed to build a healthy human adult, just as a bit of infection and exposure to various environmental nuisances is critical to developing a healthy immune system. Boomers grew up in a kind of bubble world, protected from the problems that our parents had to experience. And now we're creating schools where the word "competition" is banned and nobody can play tag because someone's feelings might be hurt or someone might get injured. We haven't yet learned the lesson that hardship, competition, failure, illness and hurt feelings are all necessary aspects of growing up and being human.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by TnHilltopper

...we now look at the future as being the next fiscal quarter instead of the next decade or generation.

Brilliantly summarized!

But depressing.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by GregW

I am a baby-boomer and I seem to have missed out on the speculative housing bubble of the last couple of decades. My house has only doubled in price over the last twenty years. I (poor me) cannot afford to buy a second (!) home so I can snowbird. Boo Hoo!

I think that housing has been just another low margin equity racket and the bottom is about to fall out as the bubble bursts. Well, all bubbles eventually burst. I just hope the government does not bail out the REITs and just lets the market take them down. BTW – When my financial advisor suggested investing in real estate bonds a couple of years ago I politely declined. Just seemed way too risky.

While this bubble bursts there will be a lot of foreclosures and even bank failures. I expect some people with actual equity will be allowed to keep the houses because the bank will have so many unsellable houses that they will just give up. The people that have been speculation using no down payment loans will loose the minimal equity they have. Others will loose more.

My real worry is that the collapse of this speculative bubble along with shipping our industrial capacity and employment to China will really hammer our economy. That will be rough but with proper actions we can survive it. I suggest getting any capital you might have accumulated into some other currency because the dollar is about to get inflated beyond any value whatsoever.

Good posts both here and in the credit tread as well. You pretty much summed up what I think is going to happen. We'll see if we are both correct.

With New Hampshire real estate (looked at the the name and where you out of that how I know.) Thought you guys were doing pretty darn good with all the M*ssh**es like me coming up because they can't afford to live in MA. anymore. Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by RedNC

Houses have always been an investment. House appreciation is a good thing.
My first condo cost me 3 times my salary. I barely made it the first two years, but I stuck it out, SACRAFICED, and after 7 years sold for a PROFIT.
My first house cost 4 times my salary, same scenario as above and I sold it for a PROFIT.

All that time I could have paid less for rent initially, but over time the rent would have caught up with the condo or house payment and I would have lost out on the equity or “profit”.

If you want to continue to cry and complain “its not fair”, “I need everyone to drop their house prices so I can afford one too” go ahead, the smart ones will take advantage of what’s available especially now that prices have come down.

First off I'm happy that you made it. You struggle and made it.
OK so let talk about appreciation. the current Appreciation rate on houses is not good because the vast major of the "people" Not just my Gen can afford them. Can't even come up with the down payment. So guess what "Sub-prime time!" Which as GregW point out maybe disastrous for our country. Hmmmmmm? I wonder if I should worry about the cost of housing anymore. If GregW is right 2 years from now might be the time to buy. If we ain't all broke by then.

[GregW]

10% down on a home mortgage is a pretty good deal. It is the 200K tht is the problem.

A friend of mine once commented as he looked out at his rapidly price inflating neighborhood, "Too bad none of the kids growing up around here will be able to afford to live here." That was in a neighborhood where prices were doubling every 5 to 7 years. He and his family did quite well by realestate.

I sometimes wonder just where people get the money for 500K+ homes unless they are just speculating. If they are speculating they have to remember to sell BEFORE the prices crash.

[Georgepl]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Bay, your points are fascinating. As a baby boomer, I've lived a bit longer then you have and I can tell you that each generation feels the one before them did it wrong. Well, soon it will be your turn and I wish I'd still be alive to read what all atrocities your generation will have caused in the eyes of your successors.

Congratulations, we have a winner! (I wish I could also be there the first time some snot-nosed kid tells them they aren't cool anymore)

[roseba]

Originally Posted by RedNC

You know I wish I had bought all the homes on my block back when they were new. I could have bought 10 for what I paid for mine, the only problem was when they were new I couldn’t have qualified for one much less 10.
Bottom line, houses have never been affordable, you have to “sacrifice” to get one. That means “do with out” some things. That is something that gen(?) have never had to deal with. And isn’t that sooooooo unfare.

Bull dunky - The median household income in America is in the $46,000 range. That included NYC where startup houses cost over $500K. Going into debt is one thing. Facing near impossible debt is quite another. (The boomers did not have to face a housing market this honorous.)

[roseba]

Originally Posted by RedNC

Houses have always been an investment. House appreciation is a good thing.
My first condo cost me 3 times my salary. I barely made it the first two years, but I stuck it out, SACRAFICED, and after 7 years sold for a PROFIT.
My first house cost 4 times my salary, same scenario as above and I sold it for a PROFIT.

All that time I could have paid less for rent initially, but over time the rent would have caught up with the condo or house payment and I would have lost out on the equity or “profit”.

If you want to continue to cry and complain “its not fair”, “I need everyone to drop their house prices so I can afford one too” go ahead, the smart ones will take advantage of what’s available especially now that prices have come down.

Starter houses in NYC are 10x the average household income. Not 3, 4 and 5 times. That's a huge distinction. So 10% down payment would be forking out $50K... more than the average household income.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by Georgepl

Congratulations, we have a winner! (I wish I could also be there the first time some snot-nosed kid tells them they aren't cool anymore)

Hehehehe. What is it with the cool factor and the Boomers. A lot of kids I knew didn't desire to be cool after high school. We just wanted to work, and get by, and maybe retire someday. But you boomers just don't want to let go of the coolness and those glory days. Give it up guys. We did.

[TnHilltopper]

Originally Posted by GregW

10% down on a home mortgage is a pretty good deal. It is the 200K tht is the problem.

A friend of mine once commented as he looked out at his rapidly price inflating neighborhood, "Too bad none of the kids growing up around here will be able to afford to live here." That was in a neighborhood where prices were doubling every 5 to 7 years. He and his family did quite well by realestate.

I sometimes wonder just where people get the money for 500K+ homes unless they are just speculating. If they are speculating they have to remember to sell BEFORE the prices crash.

GregW, I suspect those days of the housing market are at an end for a good while. I sold my home in Florida after several years of 8.5% growth as I knew it could not sustain it much longer and by selling when I did, it allowed me to have a larger segment of buyers(anyone was qualifying). I did not get rich but I did make a tidy sum, and I knew that the people who purchased my old home with an adjustable rate mortgage are probably looking to rent now as there is no way in the world they could afford what they bought.

Housing markets have been overvalued for the past 7 years, they were in dire need of a price adjustment.

[tablemtn]

I do think it's ghoulish the way a lot of Boomers turn to plastic surgery and other modifications in an attempt to make themselves "look younger." It often fails, and ends up making them look like caricatures of youth.