My parents got married in the mid-fifties. My father was in his mid thirties, my mother in her late twenties. They had been working since graduating from college, him in 1948 (his college had been interrupted by WWII), and her in 1949, while living at home with their parents, saving money. They got married in 1954. Their first child was born a year later. They rented a studio apartment in Brooklyn (they were both from NYC.) They bought their first house in 1958. This was fairly typical for the "Greatest Generation."
I grew up in a small, rural town, and many of the classmates' parents did not go to college and married much younger than did my parents. They generally graduated from high school, lived at home for a few years, saving money, before getting married. They had already been working a number of years before graduating from high school, saving money. After getting married, they usually rented a small house or apartment. The small house was usually what we know think of as an in-law unit. Some may have had to live with their parents, especially on some of the farms. (Even one wealthy family, the young married couple lived on the property in a converted stable. This was from the generation preceding my parents. And during the Depression.)
They, like my parents, did not waste money on over-priced coffee or television sets, or anything considered a "luxury." Some people instead of staying in their small town, left for the big city. Once in the big city, they lived in something akin to dorms. Men might stay at the YMCAs. In a number of cities, there were "hotels for women." (Think of Hitchcock's "Vertigo.") A lot of them shared rooms. The rents were cheap -- which helped them save money. There were boarding houses back in the day.
Even thirty years ago, when I lived in NYC, most of the people I met who had just graduated from college, lived packed in an apartment. A three bedroom apartment might have four people renting it. They shared expenses -- one land line, (no cell phones), dinners -- and chores. And they saved money: No pricey coffee drinks, shopping at thrift stores.
I honestly do not have a lot of sympathy for a 22 year old complaining about not being able to afford to buy a house. Twenty-two year olds RARELY have EVER been able to buy a house. One hundred and fifty years ago, a 22 year old settler would probably BUILD their own house, from trees harvested from the land. (Think Marty from "Mountain Men.") But the twenty-two year old city dweller was unlikely to be buying their own house.
The young have always felt the American dream was not attainable. I graduated in the late 70's, confronting unemployment, inflation and interest rates all higher than 10 percent. I lost my job 3 weeks before my first child was born. After oil prices crashed in Alaska in 1986 I sold my house for less than I owed. I had to empty my 401K and pay a huge penalty to get out from under my underwater mortgage. I just kept plugging. Working long hours, getting better and better jobs earning more and more while living in less house than I could afford, driving old cars, taking affordable vacations, living within my means. I retired 14 years ago at age 57. I have no debt, live comfortably and feel financially secure.
Want to attain the American dream. The data shows it's not only possible, but probable, if you 1) finish school, 2) learn a vocation, 3) marry another graduate and stay married, 4) have children after you're married, 5) work hard 6) live within your means and 7) save and invest wisely. Often, it's not what you make, it's what you spend and how you spend it.
I’m 44. Bought first home for $250k in 2003. Moved into another in 2008. Got destroyed selling it in crash. Paid $280k for home in San Diego in 2014 while enlisted in Navy. Lived with wife (BAH) and rented 2 rooms. Civilian again at 37 with $7500 net worth. Worked 50hr as a nurse, wife same as a xray tech. 3 years later had $230k cash in bank. Paid $410k for lake house in Connecticut in 2020. Refinanced to 2.0875% in 2022. It’s worth $575k now. We have 2 kids and $620k in 401k. Started over several times with no help from parents and community college associates degrees. Stop whining, move somewhere affordable, work overtime, get roommates, and get a degree in an industry that pays.
American kids: $400k degree for a $45k/yr job, live alone in city, willing to work 36hr/week, depressed, American Dream is dead
Immigrants: 8 family members in a 2 bedroom apartment, everyone works 80hr washing dishes, pays cash for home in 5 years, “Land of opportunity!”
The real problem is supply and demand , there are not enough homes on the market and thus that price is high . One answer is build more homes , but that is always something that is far away from the where the jobs are and thus this is a problem . The cost of used homes is high and some of that problem has to do with what people want , if you have a home that needs carpets, kitchen work, some rooms worked , no one wants it and the price jumps way down but if the home is solid people won't take a chance and they pass it up. Some developer buys it cheap puts $30,000 into and sells it for 5x of what he bought it for and thus the problem . There are too many people caught in the trap of ignorance on buying or fixing homes . My father was his own contractor and built his own home , the problem is you have to know the business and you can't get a loan so you have to put your own cash into it . But this is something anyone could learn and should , I'm always amazed that people don't figure this out , it's not easy but it's not that hard !
I get it, I do. I'm 70 and my husband is 65, and we helped out our 28-year-old daughter in 2022 with a down payment on a starter home just outside of Austin, TX. The house cost $300k and is now worth about $335K, so she's building up some equity. But she only makes $20/hour, and shares with a housemate who makes about the same. So it's a struggle.
But last month saw the passing of author Landon Y. Jones. He died at 80 after a career as a graduate of Princeton University who later worked at Time Magazine and became at points in his journey the editor of People Magazine and Money Magazine.
Born in 1943, Jones was a member of the Silent Generation, and in 1980 he published a book titled "Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation" in which he posited that Baby Boomers would be the first American generation to have a less successful life than their parents. In this prediction, at least, he proved to be spectacularly wrong, as Baby Boomers -- of whom I am one -- have by and large exceeded all "great expectations" to become possibly the wealthiest and most comfortable generation in the history of the Planet Earth.
So far.
I have hope for our future, and for the future of our young people. My own parents and grandparents started with nothing and built successful lives, on which I -- thanks be to God -- have been able to build as well. Americans need to remember our "can do" spirit. Few are wealthy, comfortable, and secure at 75, much less 25. So the pessimism of our young should be tempered. Keep working, learning, and growing. The American Dream is still there, and you will find it.
As a 28 year old guy in a relationship with a cumulative income near 160k home ownership seems sadly still unattainable. I live in Nashville mostly because where my work is but would ideally live somewhere smaller.
All that saying unless you're willing to move 30-40 minutes away from work to buy a home in the 400s that's maybe 1800sqft you will be stuck spending 500-600k on a 1200sqft run down house in an area that was once considered lower class (houses haven't changed, clientele has). Having done the math of a house that went for sale next to our rental for 515 (was originally 450k until the neighbors got a realtor, they bought for 410k 1.5 years prior) we would be spending 3,800$ a month for the place with a 50k down payment.
Talk about frustrating, making good money in a stable relationship and still getting boned by the housing market that you are forced to take part in due to work. If people want to know what it's like check out r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer on reddit. It's a sadly relatable place full of insane sellers, desperate buyers putting 50k over bid price, and general despondency
"... move 30-40 minutes away from work to buy a home in the 400s that's maybe 1800sqft you will be stuck spending 500-600k on a 1200sqft run down house in an area that was once considered lower class ..."
I'm also a higher earner. For most people that 30-40 minute drive house isn't really an option. I choose not to because that drive in rush hour is easily over an hour.
20% down, 2 bedrooms/1 bath, high interest rate, poor'ish part of town, and (for me) a struggle to make the payments. People working up in D. C. bought in Fredericksburg for an hour'ish commute.
Girl in my office is going for the hour away in the country. My main qualm is not being able to start earlier for family purposes. But it’s whatever, should be able to skip the starter home in a few years
It's not just GenZ, it's anyone who doesn't already own a home. After the crises of 2008 and 2020, each time Democrats were in power and created the financial conditions for housing consolidation that locked out future generations. Harris' cheap gesture is too little too late. Housing has long been the reason why Democrats should and will lose.
I don't think logic supports the conclusion that "big Wall Street firms" buying up houses would make rents go up. If anything, more properties being rented should lower rents. The article says that rentals were hard to find—well, I guess that explains why they're expensive. And apparently buying is cheaper—I guess more people want to rent, maybe they don't want to commit or don't have money saved for the down payment.
I am middle aged and have two kids in college. After 8 years of inflationary policy, my grocery bills are higher, my mortgage payments are higher, my insurance bills are higher, etc.. but all of that kind of pales in comparison to the effect of the inflation on the value of my home and my 401K, which have both increased in value significantly. So for me, inflation is actually kind of cool. For my kids, however, the direct impact of those policies appears to be all downside. It is really ironic when you consider that many of those policies were nominally intended to help the working class. Maybe everyone should be required to take and pass a test on Econ 101 before running for office?
So for some reason, the author of this article felt the need to profile a 23 year old who can't afford to buy a house on her own... but finds a partner with $20k in the bank because he has 7 years on her, and the takeaway is that Gen Z can't get ahead?!?! Or it could be that the assumption that you get a house simply for graduating college is asinine. Seems like the bf figured it out. Almost as if more time in the workforce = more accumulated funds for a home.
I've been questioning my subscription to TFP for a few weeks, but it's getting more bleak by the day.
The individual stories in this article I find to be rather sad, not for their situation but for the sense of despair and hopelessness, and yet they live in an era, which I see as being one of virtually endless possibilities. I lay that at the feet of the so called progressive leadership that as virtually all of our levels of government and in our institutions. The Carter era of "malaise" is laid broadly across so much of our society. I'm 81 years old and grew up at the end of WWII and in the Fifties and never grew up in a house that my family owned mostly because my father was what I called and "itinerant dreamer," always chasing the big bucks but without the skills to keep them and invest them. When I went to college in 1962 I got a National Defense Loan for tuition and worked two jobs for spending money and food and that was in Los Angeles. Eventually, with I ran out of money and with the Viet Nam war going on I enlisted rather than get drafted. I went into the Air Force which offered technical training and an opportunity for college. After two years I qualified for a commissioning program where they would pay me to go to college at USC which I did. From that point I had my career, and even though they didn't pay anywhere near what they do now, it was a start and allowed me to marry and start a family at age 24. Over the years I traveled over most of the world taking advantage of every opportunity offered for which a willingly paid for with my time and best efforts. Today we own our own home, the last of several) with a very comfortable retirement. I say this only because despite a war that served in, numerous recessions and financial crises (18% mortgage rates) and moves every 3-4 years, through perseverance and some mature decision making together we built a life with two grown kids in careers. It is possible even and I would so especially now. You just have to figure it out what you want and then work, save and work some more. It is never easy.
As to the political snake oil that is being sold: that $25,000 tax credit is for first time, FIRST EVER GENERATION homeowners which automatically favors minority groups without says so. Also, if that is enacted by congress (which is a big if) the effect will automatically bump the housing price by $25,000. The developers are going to get theirs no matter what. Same thing happened with student loans and tuition costs; ditto for EVs, when they offered $7500 tax credit when you purchased a new EV.
Just my view point as an old man who has been around to see most of it. If you think there is no hope, then you have to go and make your own. It is possible.
In my opinion, the real problem is not government policy. It is what many people are told in their 20’s. I heard it. Your generation has it so difficult. You will never be able to buy a house. Yours will be the first generation not to live a higher life standard than your parents. Etc., Etc. I heard it in the 1970’s a period of high unemployment, high inflation, continuing anti-war violence in the early part of the decade, double digit mortgage rates, and 20% required down payments for houses. It was extremely rare for someone in the early 20’s to think about buying a house. I entered the job market in 1970 with a college degree and an MBA, yet I was 32 before my wife (who also worked) and I bought a starter house and made due with one car. The mortgage rate was 9%. That was a difficult period where the pessimism appeared warranted. It certainly wasn’t the easy period some young people paint it to be. I would argue the pessimism was more justified than today. But despite the gloom of the period, it was a much better time than what parents went through with a depression and World War II. Don’t believe the politicians, pundits and press who keeps peddling this nonsense for their own selfish purposes.
The overriding problem is government spending, unheard of debt and trying to control the economy. You keep hearing about government spending completely out of control, much of it now going to subsidize uncontrolled illegal immigration and hundreds of billions of dollars going to proxy wars that are doing nothing to help Americans. This has caused run away inflation and high interest rates. Under President Trump there were no new wars and he ended US involvement in many places. China continues to undercut the American worker with slave labor and heavily subsidized production and Congress is not doing near enough to keep those products out of the US. Then of course there is the absurd government college loans where colleges have been allowed to increase tuition at will, with no restrictions placed on them. Add to that is the false doctrine pushed heavily by President Obama and Democrats that everyone one needed a college education, without any regard whether a college degree was even marketable or it would even be possible to pay off the loans in ones life time. Here we are back to Thomas Sowell explaining that progressives ignore that societal norms are evolutionary and most new ideas have already been tried and failed, but progressives distain history and consequential knowledge as interfering with their mantra of unrestraint , preferring to institute ideas and programs that have failed time and time again throughout history, hoping for a different outcome. But as Thomas Sowell said, there are no solutions, just tradeoffs.
Everything from price controls, to the 2008 Mortgage meltdown (selling house to people with no income, no income, no job and no assets; the wholesale purchasing of failed mortgages by banks was necessary not as investment s but to mitigate the collapse of the housing market), unlimited college loans without any regard to how they will be paid off, unrestricted illegal immigration, proves the adage, that if you really want to screw things up, hand your problems over to the experts and let government try to fix it.
I'm retired. I wasn't able to buy a starter home until I was 30. During my life mortgage rates were always in the 6% range. It's difficult to come up with that first down payment. You have to give up a lot. I hear my wife's younger in-laws complaining about housing/interest rates/inflation. Guess what, they voted Dem, they stop at Starbucks each day for their latte, etc. They go/fly on weekend trips to somewhere when they have room on their cc. They do their grocery shopping at the high end stores.... Duh...I no pity for them.
My parents got married in the mid-fifties. My father was in his mid thirties, my mother in her late twenties. They had been working since graduating from college, him in 1948 (his college had been interrupted by WWII), and her in 1949, while living at home with their parents, saving money. They got married in 1954. Their first child was born a year later. They rented a studio apartment in Brooklyn (they were both from NYC.) They bought their first house in 1958. This was fairly typical for the "Greatest Generation."
I grew up in a small, rural town, and many of the classmates' parents did not go to college and married much younger than did my parents. They generally graduated from high school, lived at home for a few years, saving money, before getting married. They had already been working a number of years before graduating from high school, saving money. After getting married, they usually rented a small house or apartment. The small house was usually what we know think of as an in-law unit. Some may have had to live with their parents, especially on some of the farms. (Even one wealthy family, the young married couple lived on the property in a converted stable. This was from the generation preceding my parents. And during the Depression.)
They, like my parents, did not waste money on over-priced coffee or television sets, or anything considered a "luxury." Some people instead of staying in their small town, left for the big city. Once in the big city, they lived in something akin to dorms. Men might stay at the YMCAs. In a number of cities, there were "hotels for women." (Think of Hitchcock's "Vertigo.") A lot of them shared rooms. The rents were cheap -- which helped them save money. There were boarding houses back in the day.
Even thirty years ago, when I lived in NYC, most of the people I met who had just graduated from college, lived packed in an apartment. A three bedroom apartment might have four people renting it. They shared expenses -- one land line, (no cell phones), dinners -- and chores. And they saved money: No pricey coffee drinks, shopping at thrift stores.
I honestly do not have a lot of sympathy for a 22 year old complaining about not being able to afford to buy a house. Twenty-two year olds RARELY have EVER been able to buy a house. One hundred and fifty years ago, a 22 year old settler would probably BUILD their own house, from trees harvested from the land. (Think Marty from "Mountain Men.") But the twenty-two year old city dweller was unlikely to be buying their own house.
Be patient, be frugal.
The young have always felt the American dream was not attainable. I graduated in the late 70's, confronting unemployment, inflation and interest rates all higher than 10 percent. I lost my job 3 weeks before my first child was born. After oil prices crashed in Alaska in 1986 I sold my house for less than I owed. I had to empty my 401K and pay a huge penalty to get out from under my underwater mortgage. I just kept plugging. Working long hours, getting better and better jobs earning more and more while living in less house than I could afford, driving old cars, taking affordable vacations, living within my means. I retired 14 years ago at age 57. I have no debt, live comfortably and feel financially secure.
Want to attain the American dream. The data shows it's not only possible, but probable, if you 1) finish school, 2) learn a vocation, 3) marry another graduate and stay married, 4) have children after you're married, 5) work hard 6) live within your means and 7) save and invest wisely. Often, it's not what you make, it's what you spend and how you spend it.
I’m 44. Bought first home for $250k in 2003. Moved into another in 2008. Got destroyed selling it in crash. Paid $280k for home in San Diego in 2014 while enlisted in Navy. Lived with wife (BAH) and rented 2 rooms. Civilian again at 37 with $7500 net worth. Worked 50hr as a nurse, wife same as a xray tech. 3 years later had $230k cash in bank. Paid $410k for lake house in Connecticut in 2020. Refinanced to 2.0875% in 2022. It’s worth $575k now. We have 2 kids and $620k in 401k. Started over several times with no help from parents and community college associates degrees. Stop whining, move somewhere affordable, work overtime, get roommates, and get a degree in an industry that pays.
American kids: $400k degree for a $45k/yr job, live alone in city, willing to work 36hr/week, depressed, American Dream is dead
Immigrants: 8 family members in a 2 bedroom apartment, everyone works 80hr washing dishes, pays cash for home in 5 years, “Land of opportunity!”
The real problem is supply and demand , there are not enough homes on the market and thus that price is high . One answer is build more homes , but that is always something that is far away from the where the jobs are and thus this is a problem . The cost of used homes is high and some of that problem has to do with what people want , if you have a home that needs carpets, kitchen work, some rooms worked , no one wants it and the price jumps way down but if the home is solid people won't take a chance and they pass it up. Some developer buys it cheap puts $30,000 into and sells it for 5x of what he bought it for and thus the problem . There are too many people caught in the trap of ignorance on buying or fixing homes . My father was his own contractor and built his own home , the problem is you have to know the business and you can't get a loan so you have to put your own cash into it . But this is something anyone could learn and should , I'm always amazed that people don't figure this out , it's not easy but it's not that hard !
I get it, I do. I'm 70 and my husband is 65, and we helped out our 28-year-old daughter in 2022 with a down payment on a starter home just outside of Austin, TX. The house cost $300k and is now worth about $335K, so she's building up some equity. But she only makes $20/hour, and shares with a housemate who makes about the same. So it's a struggle.
But last month saw the passing of author Landon Y. Jones. He died at 80 after a career as a graduate of Princeton University who later worked at Time Magazine and became at points in his journey the editor of People Magazine and Money Magazine.
Born in 1943, Jones was a member of the Silent Generation, and in 1980 he published a book titled "Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation" in which he posited that Baby Boomers would be the first American generation to have a less successful life than their parents. In this prediction, at least, he proved to be spectacularly wrong, as Baby Boomers -- of whom I am one -- have by and large exceeded all "great expectations" to become possibly the wealthiest and most comfortable generation in the history of the Planet Earth.
So far.
I have hope for our future, and for the future of our young people. My own parents and grandparents started with nothing and built successful lives, on which I -- thanks be to God -- have been able to build as well. Americans need to remember our "can do" spirit. Few are wealthy, comfortable, and secure at 75, much less 25. So the pessimism of our young should be tempered. Keep working, learning, and growing. The American Dream is still there, and you will find it.
As a 28 year old guy in a relationship with a cumulative income near 160k home ownership seems sadly still unattainable. I live in Nashville mostly because where my work is but would ideally live somewhere smaller.
All that saying unless you're willing to move 30-40 minutes away from work to buy a home in the 400s that's maybe 1800sqft you will be stuck spending 500-600k on a 1200sqft run down house in an area that was once considered lower class (houses haven't changed, clientele has). Having done the math of a house that went for sale next to our rental for 515 (was originally 450k until the neighbors got a realtor, they bought for 410k 1.5 years prior) we would be spending 3,800$ a month for the place with a 50k down payment.
Talk about frustrating, making good money in a stable relationship and still getting boned by the housing market that you are forced to take part in due to work. If people want to know what it's like check out r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer on reddit. It's a sadly relatable place full of insane sellers, desperate buyers putting 50k over bid price, and general despondency
"... move 30-40 minutes away from work to buy a home in the 400s that's maybe 1800sqft you will be stuck spending 500-600k on a 1200sqft run down house in an area that was once considered lower class ..."
You described a "starter home".
I'm also a higher earner. For most people that 30-40 minute drive house isn't really an option. I choose not to because that drive in rush hour is easily over an hour.
What was your starter home and salary buying?
20% down, 2 bedrooms/1 bath, high interest rate, poor'ish part of town, and (for me) a struggle to make the payments. People working up in D. C. bought in Fredericksburg for an hour'ish commute.
Girl in my office is going for the hour away in the country. My main qualm is not being able to start earlier for family purposes. But it’s whatever, should be able to skip the starter home in a few years
It's not just GenZ, it's anyone who doesn't already own a home. After the crises of 2008 and 2020, each time Democrats were in power and created the financial conditions for housing consolidation that locked out future generations. Harris' cheap gesture is too little too late. Housing has long been the reason why Democrats should and will lose.
I don't think logic supports the conclusion that "big Wall Street firms" buying up houses would make rents go up. If anything, more properties being rented should lower rents. The article says that rentals were hard to find—well, I guess that explains why they're expensive. And apparently buying is cheaper—I guess more people want to rent, maybe they don't want to commit or don't have money saved for the down payment.
There's no reason housing can't be cheap, if we could just push past the NIMBYs and keep building.
I am middle aged and have two kids in college. After 8 years of inflationary policy, my grocery bills are higher, my mortgage payments are higher, my insurance bills are higher, etc.. but all of that kind of pales in comparison to the effect of the inflation on the value of my home and my 401K, which have both increased in value significantly. So for me, inflation is actually kind of cool. For my kids, however, the direct impact of those policies appears to be all downside. It is really ironic when you consider that many of those policies were nominally intended to help the working class. Maybe everyone should be required to take and pass a test on Econ 101 before running for office?
And these youngsters that are getting hammered voted for it.
So for some reason, the author of this article felt the need to profile a 23 year old who can't afford to buy a house on her own... but finds a partner with $20k in the bank because he has 7 years on her, and the takeaway is that Gen Z can't get ahead?!?! Or it could be that the assumption that you get a house simply for graduating college is asinine. Seems like the bf figured it out. Almost as if more time in the workforce = more accumulated funds for a home.
I've been questioning my subscription to TFP for a few weeks, but it's getting more bleak by the day.
The individual stories in this article I find to be rather sad, not for their situation but for the sense of despair and hopelessness, and yet they live in an era, which I see as being one of virtually endless possibilities. I lay that at the feet of the so called progressive leadership that as virtually all of our levels of government and in our institutions. The Carter era of "malaise" is laid broadly across so much of our society. I'm 81 years old and grew up at the end of WWII and in the Fifties and never grew up in a house that my family owned mostly because my father was what I called and "itinerant dreamer," always chasing the big bucks but without the skills to keep them and invest them. When I went to college in 1962 I got a National Defense Loan for tuition and worked two jobs for spending money and food and that was in Los Angeles. Eventually, with I ran out of money and with the Viet Nam war going on I enlisted rather than get drafted. I went into the Air Force which offered technical training and an opportunity for college. After two years I qualified for a commissioning program where they would pay me to go to college at USC which I did. From that point I had my career, and even though they didn't pay anywhere near what they do now, it was a start and allowed me to marry and start a family at age 24. Over the years I traveled over most of the world taking advantage of every opportunity offered for which a willingly paid for with my time and best efforts. Today we own our own home, the last of several) with a very comfortable retirement. I say this only because despite a war that served in, numerous recessions and financial crises (18% mortgage rates) and moves every 3-4 years, through perseverance and some mature decision making together we built a life with two grown kids in careers. It is possible even and I would so especially now. You just have to figure it out what you want and then work, save and work some more. It is never easy.
As to the political snake oil that is being sold: that $25,000 tax credit is for first time, FIRST EVER GENERATION homeowners which automatically favors minority groups without says so. Also, if that is enacted by congress (which is a big if) the effect will automatically bump the housing price by $25,000. The developers are going to get theirs no matter what. Same thing happened with student loans and tuition costs; ditto for EVs, when they offered $7500 tax credit when you purchased a new EV.
Just my view point as an old man who has been around to see most of it. If you think there is no hope, then you have to go and make your own. It is possible.
In my opinion, the real problem is not government policy. It is what many people are told in their 20’s. I heard it. Your generation has it so difficult. You will never be able to buy a house. Yours will be the first generation not to live a higher life standard than your parents. Etc., Etc. I heard it in the 1970’s a period of high unemployment, high inflation, continuing anti-war violence in the early part of the decade, double digit mortgage rates, and 20% required down payments for houses. It was extremely rare for someone in the early 20’s to think about buying a house. I entered the job market in 1970 with a college degree and an MBA, yet I was 32 before my wife (who also worked) and I bought a starter house and made due with one car. The mortgage rate was 9%. That was a difficult period where the pessimism appeared warranted. It certainly wasn’t the easy period some young people paint it to be. I would argue the pessimism was more justified than today. But despite the gloom of the period, it was a much better time than what parents went through with a depression and World War II. Don’t believe the politicians, pundits and press who keeps peddling this nonsense for their own selfish purposes.
When did student fresh out of college buy nice houses. Nobody I knew 30-45 years ago.
Yes. And there never was of is a promise of the American Dream. The promise is the opportunity to earn it.
The overriding problem is government spending, unheard of debt and trying to control the economy. You keep hearing about government spending completely out of control, much of it now going to subsidize uncontrolled illegal immigration and hundreds of billions of dollars going to proxy wars that are doing nothing to help Americans. This has caused run away inflation and high interest rates. Under President Trump there were no new wars and he ended US involvement in many places. China continues to undercut the American worker with slave labor and heavily subsidized production and Congress is not doing near enough to keep those products out of the US. Then of course there is the absurd government college loans where colleges have been allowed to increase tuition at will, with no restrictions placed on them. Add to that is the false doctrine pushed heavily by President Obama and Democrats that everyone one needed a college education, without any regard whether a college degree was even marketable or it would even be possible to pay off the loans in ones life time. Here we are back to Thomas Sowell explaining that progressives ignore that societal norms are evolutionary and most new ideas have already been tried and failed, but progressives distain history and consequential knowledge as interfering with their mantra of unrestraint , preferring to institute ideas and programs that have failed time and time again throughout history, hoping for a different outcome. But as Thomas Sowell said, there are no solutions, just tradeoffs.
Everything from price controls, to the 2008 Mortgage meltdown (selling house to people with no income, no income, no job and no assets; the wholesale purchasing of failed mortgages by banks was necessary not as investment s but to mitigate the collapse of the housing market), unlimited college loans without any regard to how they will be paid off, unrestricted illegal immigration, proves the adage, that if you really want to screw things up, hand your problems over to the experts and let government try to fix it.
I'm retired. I wasn't able to buy a starter home until I was 30. During my life mortgage rates were always in the 6% range. It's difficult to come up with that first down payment. You have to give up a lot. I hear my wife's younger in-laws complaining about housing/interest rates/inflation. Guess what, they voted Dem, they stop at Starbucks each day for their latte, etc. They go/fly on weekend trips to somewhere when they have room on their cc. They do their grocery shopping at the high end stores.... Duh...I no pity for them.