I used to blame Millennials for housing prices until I tried to buy my first place

I was always ranting about how my generation (Gen X) had it harder, then last month I actually looked at houses in Portland. A 2-bedroom fixer-upper went for $420,000 which is like 8 times the median income here. I get it now, they aren't lazy, they're just priced out by a system that's broken for everyone.

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_schmidt22d ago

My buddy just closed on a place in Denver, a 900 square foot condo from the 1970s with original everything, for $375k. His payment is over $2,600 a month with the current rates, and thats after he put 10% down. I used to think they just needed to cut back on avocado toast or whatever, but honestly I couldnt afford that either and Im making pretty good money for my age. The whole system is rigged so that working people just lose no matter what generation you are.

drew_park22d ago

Point @hugo_schmidt to look at property taxes and insurance too, those go up every year and eat into any raise he gets. Most people only look at the mortgage payment upfront but dont realize the real cost jumps way faster than their income. The system works exactly like this because it keeps everyone stuck renting or house poor and fighting over scraps.