No dispute, but the general trend seems to be that homes in the USA are becoming less and affordable. If you can’t afford a home where you are located b/c of income/home-price disparity, relocating to a lower home-cost area may not help if the incomes at the other location are correspondingly lower.
The chart in the link below is a little confusing. Note that a larger affordability number means homes are less affordable.
Historical Home Affordability in the United States
+1
And, avoiding spending on gambling and/or booze binges helps too. One of my old friends (I’ve mentioned him previously) has essentially the same retirement income that I have, but because of his gambling habits, he lives in a small apartment in a dodgy neighborhood, while I live in a fully paid-off 7 room home on 2/3 of an acre in a beautiful, low-crime area.
But, that guy continues to lease a new Caddy every couple of years because “it really impresses the doorman when I drive-up to the front door of the casino”. Yes, with the limitation on his income after all of his inevitable gambling losses, he drives a luxury car, and he does it in the most expensive way possible.
Go figure…
Yeah, I’ve known people like that . . . they SHOULD be homeowners, but aren’t, due to lifestyle choices
And I’ve also known plenty of people who love renting cars to go for a weekend trip to Las Vegas
And I’m thinking . . . my car would make that trip just fine, and I do NOT care what people think when they see me showing up in my old and ordinary vehicle. Not to mention, I save on those car rental costs
That said . . . I do NOT go to Las Vegas, because I don’t gamble and for other reasons, which I’ve discussed in years past on this forum
I also pay off my credit card bills in full each and every months, no exceptions. I’m not very savvy with investments, but I’ll be getting a pension and I definitely live within my means
I have always had the same practice, but it’s amazing to me that so many people think it is “normal” to carry large balances at all times on their credit cards, and in the process they wind-up paying incredibly high interest rates on that debt.
You might not be old enough to remember this, but at one time, credit card interest was deductible on one’s federal tax return, meaning that prudent people–like you and I–were subsidizing the wasteful spending habits of others. I am so glad that this deduction was finally ended in 1986.
Funny, most of my family has been in Nashville area or black mt area NC for many many generations, on my moms side, both my grandparents worked and yet mom grew up very poor, most of her childhood had no indoor pluming
Mom worked at the SAME company (well, it was bought out a few times) for 45 years (retired over 20 years ago), never looked for a different job,
Dad was always in real estate, funny, mom was always the bread winner cause in real estate it was always iffy, dad selling houses when the interest rates were 17+% at the highest, so didn’t get rich by any means, housing market didn’t really take off until after he retired, go figure… lol
I always brown bagged it growing up as well as my whole working career… But dad was able to build a 1700ish (living space) 3 bedroom 3 bath house in 73 (moved in it in 73) and mom still lives hear, dad did also until he passed this year, they only went on 2 real vacations for over 30 years, and never spent more then they could afford… So that is 2 generations from 1900/2 and 1935/6 timeline that both parents worked hard just to be average… BTW My dad grew up in the mountains dirt poor (farmer), they lived in shacks that still had dirt floors when he was young… The ONLY reason his parents ever had a small house that was nice is because he bought them one from all the sacrifices he made to give them something a little nice to retire in before I was born… BTW, none of them ever drank alcohol (other then in medicine) or gambled… Dad wouldn’t even drink NyQuil when he got sick, never had a drop… lol
So no red brick homes with a anywhere close new car, not even sure if dads parents ever even had a vehicle, don’t think they ever learned to drive, I know moms mom never learned to drive… My moms mom lived in the house mom grew up in, later in life (50’s) they added a bathroom onto the back porch and added running water to the new kitchen, was a 4 room house growing up until her much older aunt moved in and added 2 more rooms and the bathroom… and she lived in that house until the early to mid 90’s when she had to sell and move closer to family to take care of her… She still push mowed the large yard at age 87…
My grandparents were so poor that the great depression did not phase them in the least, life went on as normal… On moms parents side, he was an electrician and she was a school teacher…Dads side, they were just small time farmers, grew enough to trade and feed the family…
I have no idea what “impresses the doorman” at a casino, for the simple reason that I’d never go to a casino, and I also don’t care about “impressing” other people. In fact, quite the opposite. As my income increases over time, and my investments pay off over time, the poorer I want to look, to avoid attracting attention. I would prefer that people don’t bother me for a handout, and criminals don’t look at me as a target.
When I stop at a gas station to put fuel in my old economy car, or when I am in the parking lot of a grocery store, loading my purchases into my old economy car, people walk up to me and ask for money. However, when I tell them that “I’m sorry, I’m extremely poor”, they look at my old clothes and my old car, and they say “no problem” and go ask someone else.
If you are driving a flashy car, and dressed to impress, people are a lot less likely to take “no” for an answer when they ask if you can spare a few bucks. And the more desperate people become, the more likely that they will become willing to use force after being told “no” by someone who looks to have plenty of money.
That is certainly true. But also consider…the county I work in has an average home price north of $800K. Suppose you’re 23 and just finishing tech college, or just graduated with a Bachelor’s degree, or have been employed in your field for 4 years. Say you make $65K (which seems high for a 23 year old). How frugal and disciplined would you need to be to live somewhat comfortably and be able buy a house sometime soon?
And then there’s this:
Define “comfortably”.
I blame the UAW (and others) in part for this. I don’t begrudge anyone a fair wage. But somewhere in the middle of this century it became expected that a factory worker with nothing more than a high school education could comfortably support a family of 4. That idea seems to have taken the place of the idea that in order to have more, you need to work a little harder and do a little more than the next person.
I don’t believe single income households were as common they are made out to be. As a kid most of my friends had a mother with at least a part-time job. But I don’t have any figures to back that up.
Back this time in 2019 a friend took advantage of the Lexus holiday special when his new 2019 Lexus ES was totaled after 7mo being rear ended. Replacement ES was covered by gap insurance and the new loan was a better rate which gave him a similar payment for one with a few options the previous car didn’t have.
OTOH, I have no desire to have a cashiers check placed in my coffin.
I can certainly respect that desire, and I also have no desire to appear affluent, but–clearly–that isn’t the way that everyone carries out their lives.
Yesterday, I did some last-minute Xmas shopping at Short Hills Mall, and now that the pandemic is fairly far behind us, they are again displaying luxury cars at the mall. Adjacent to where parents and kids were lined-up for their visit with Santa, there was a Bentley Bentayga SUV on display. While I have no interest in these behemoths, I decided to take a look at the price sticker, and found that–with a few options—it was priced at $333,250. I’m sure that not many of these are sold each year, but somebody is buying them, or the dealership would have closed its doors.
As I exited the mall, there was a Bentley Mulliner sedan in front of me. I just googled the price, and that model also sells for more than $300k. Clearly, some people are buying–and driving–these incredibly expensive cars.
A few minutes later, I was blown away by the sight of a late-model Rolls Royce Phantom sedan tooling along on I-78. I just googled the price, and this model starts at $493k. 
So, even though you and I don’t have an inherent need to impress others, some folks do have that desire, and–unlike my destitute gambling friend–I tend to think that the folks driving the Bentley and the Rolls Royce that I saw yesterday do have the funds to live an impressive lifestyle.
It’ll just be a regular personal check. Your surviving relatives will have the cashier’s check 
We grew up lower middle class if even that. My Dad built our first house with hand tools and only the help of my Mom and Uncle. He learned anything he did not know in building it and worked after work hours while raising a couple kids. He was in his 30s and rented up until then.
I didn’t buy my first house until I was 36. I saved, fixed and drove used cars and meanwhile my salary continued to climb as I worked to move up the chain. It was a small starter home that had potential.
People seem to expect too much these days. Parents buying their kid’s houses with cash. Expecting big salaries right out of college. The idea of working hard, saving and putting off big purchases seems to be lost on this generation…
Not only this generation but the last 4 or 5 at least if not more.
I can only speak for my children. They work hard, save, and don’t spend as much on large purchases as they could. My oldest daughter and her husband are both professionals and bought a townhouse even though they were cleared by their bank to spend up to 50% more on their mortgage. My middle daughter and her husband got a buddy deal on his uncle’s big 3BR home in a really nice neighborhood. Otherwise, they may not have moved near his grandmother as soon as they did. My youngest daughter and her fiancé are both professionals and just bought a refurbished 2BR house even though they could have afforded more. I’m not sure how different it is now from our generation. There have always been people with long term views and short term outlooks.
When I bought my first house, I bought one I could comfortably afford to pay the mortgage on, even though I could have qualified for a larger mortgage
All of my colleagues said I was a loser for buying such a small and modest house
In fact, my service writer at the time said I should have stretched my finances razor thin and got the biggest house possible
That is just what he himself did and he fell flat on his face later on, from a financial perspective
Even though my wife and I both worked, we always bought homes that we could afford on one salary. Both of us are a bit risk averse. We also paid into 401k plans even though working for GM would give me a good pension… until, of course, it evaporated.
Interesting.
Before the Brooklyn, they built a suspension bridge across the Ohio River at Cincinnati. A highlight of my 2023 was going there to see it. And drive across it! Toll free! It was under construction during the Civil War and completed in 1867. A museum of the Underground Railroad is, appropriately, located near it on the Ohio side of the river.
My kids seem to have inherited a financial sense that I never had. When my son was 9 or 10, we were cleaning up after dinner and I said “Everyone in the car, we’re going out for ice cream.” My son asked “Can I stay home and have $5 instead?”
There’s no way I would have waited that long to buy. My now wife and I were 24/25. But she was working 2 jobs and I was a mechanic flagging hours 6 days a week. But as I said before, how frugal and hard-working do you need to be to do that today? A young guy making $65K can’t even afford to rent a modest 2br house alone, can he?
Not disputing, but remember that legal-sharks often focus on suing folks who appear to have little money, b/c the America legal system is a cash game. Winner takes all. The Sharks are thinking: Even though he may have a good defense, if he runs out of money to pay his legal fees , he will automatically lose. Whoever has the most loot wins. So by making yourself look poor, you may inadvertently attract legal sharks. Just a caution.
I was pedaling my bicycle a little after noon passing by the local high school the other day on the way to do an errand. The school was letting the kids out early b/c of the holidays I guess. There was a very long line of new-looking fancy black cars & SUVs picking up students to drive them from school to home, what couldn’t be more than a few blocks.
