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The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

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Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#91

Post by forgetfreeman »

whatever1 wrote: post #29
forgetfreeman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine being outraged your grandparents managed to actually retire in a forum that very nearly worships a couple of guys that could purchase Utah. I'd consider reviewing the holdings of the 780ish billionaires currently residing in the US before declaring a generational issue.

Ok let’s entertain this idea that the billionaires are the core of the problem. Total wealth of 800 billionaires is around $7T. The housing real estate market in the US (not counting commercial) is around $50T. So I guess they play a role but even if we erased them we would still be in the same spot.

I'm not as convinced. A quick glance at the numbers doesn't factor for the outsized influence oligarch-class real estate developers have on legislative processes. Consider the frequency with which the state legislature here signs off on infrastructure and beach replenishment projects that explicitly and solely service the most expensive coastal development projects in the state. They've literally greenlit coastal overdevelopment to the point that the bulk of the state's shellfish industry has gone bankrupt as once-viable commercial beds have become inundated with surface and septic tank runoff to the point they are no longer safe for human consumption. This in the face of decades of protests by middle and working class folks on the coast. Then there's the billions of dollars worth of public funds that have been tossed at the same developers for "mixed use" urban high-rises in all of the largest cities in the state. Without exception these projects were billed as targeting the housing crisis to generate positive column inches. The actual net result is three quarters of a million dollar condos, rent and property prices downtown tripling over the course of 18 months, and a massive wave of local businesses filing for bankruptcy in the face of unsustainable rent increases, all of which has exacerbated the problems it was claimed were being addressed. Lastly there's the rash of 300+ unit suburban hellscape subdivisions that are popping up like mushrooms in what was once quiet rural corners of the county. I am absolutely dead-ass certain that 100% of the existing residents of those areas would have had those projects halted in the planning phase if they had any way to do so.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#92

Post by throw0101a »

cen4 wrote: post #61
surfpel wrote: post #7

Well that’s what happens when you frame housing as an investment. If it didn’t outpace the market and the consumer inflation rate, it wouldn’t be a good investment. So by definition it must become unaffordable for the masses. No great way out of this mess.

Unlike many other sectors where prices drop thanks to constant advances in Tech, what is weird is how Tech hasn't made a dent in Housing. Health I can understand cause it takes a long time to produce a Doc, and there is a high demand and low supply dynamic. But we can easily build housing cheap. Even if the real estate/investment lobby is busy buying up all the "prime" land, its not like the US is a small country to…

> Even if the real estate/investment lobby is busy buying up all the "prime" land, its not like the US is a small country to work around them somewhere.

40% of the US population lives in a coastal county:

* https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/population.html

Two-thirds of the US population lives with-in one hundred miles (160km) of the border:

* https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone

The US population is fairly concentrated, and it seems that many people like living next to other people (for personal and/or economic reasons).

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#93

Post by phyzix5761 »

torginus wrote: post #63
phyzix5761 wrote: post #35

I do financial coaching as a side business and I can tell you the main two reason why most people in their 30s can't afford a home is because they have no idea how to budget and they carry too much debt spent on things they don't need. On average people spend about 30% of their income paying off non mortgage debts like credit cards, car loans, and student loans. I teach my clients how to budget, cut back on unnecessa…

Honestly that sounds like not the whole picture. I think your perception might be because your clientele comes from the top whatever% of US society, where people make a ton of money. Accoring to stats, the top 15% of households in the US has an income in excess of $200k - saving half of it and living like a king on the rest should be easy enough, while the median around $75k - even living frugally won't allow you to…

Over the last 16 years I've worked with a wide range of clients. Most of my clients fall within the median but of course there are many that make more or less than the median.

An important thing to understand is that income is not fixed. There are many things you can do to increase it. But even those making below $75k can afford a down payment on a home if they free up the money that's going toward debt, make changes to their budget, and choose an appropriately priced house.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#94

Post by phyzix5761 »

jjav wrote: post #87
phyzix5761 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's gonna be 16 years in February that I've been a financial coach and I've helped literally hundreds of people at all income levels and backgrounds achieve their financial goals. What I said is the truth and my clients can attest to that.

> It's gonna be 16 years in February that I've been a financial coach You mentioned doing this as a side gig? If you could give a few pointers to info on how you got started? Sometimes I think it would be rewarding to do something like this at a low-cost or volunteer basis for people who need help.

Before I was a software engineer I worked, full time, as a financial counselor helping people do pretty much the same thing. I used to do other things as well like housing and bankruptcy counseling which I don't do anymore.

You could get certified as a financial advisor if you want to give investment advice or look for some financial coaching training programs.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#95

Post by coding123 »

cen4 wrote: post #61
surfpel wrote: post #7

Well that’s what happens when you frame housing as an investment. If it didn’t outpace the market and the consumer inflation rate, it wouldn’t be a good investment. So by definition it must become unaffordable for the masses. No great way out of this mess.

Unlike many other sectors where prices drop thanks to constant advances in Tech, what is weird is how Tech hasn't made a dent in Housing. Health I can understand cause it takes a long time to produce a Doc, and there is a high demand and low supply dynamic. But we can easily build housing cheap. Even if the real estate/investment lobby is busy buying up all the "prime" land, its not like the US is a small country to…

Tech will: A lot of laid off tech workers will build houses!

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#96

Post by phyzix5761 »

nickd2001 wrote: post #74
phyzix5761 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's gonna be 16 years in February that I've been a financial coach and I've helped literally hundreds of people at all income levels and backgrounds achieve their financial goals. What I said is the truth and my clients can attest to that.

I believe you :) Simply refusing to play "keep up with the Joneses", seems to me can make the difference between being able to buy a home or not. Albeit it can take some inner confidence. I can't remember anyone actually asking me "why do you drive such a s*** car?", but they probably think it. ;) The key thing is not to care. Caveats - (1) this doesn't solve the problem if due to friends and family network you feel…

You're absolutely right. Lifestyle creep and keeping up with the Joneses is a real thing and once you can shift the clients perspective on what's actually important the rest is pretty easy.

Healthcare bills are just another debt. Health providers are almost always willing to work out some kind of payment plan and we tackle it the same way we would a credit card or student loan. Additionally, there are things like HSA contributions that can help you save some money on healthcare bills. Usually in the range of 10-20%.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#97

Post by snapplebobapple »

cen4 wrote: post #61
surfpel wrote: post #7

Well that’s what happens when you frame housing as an investment. If it didn’t outpace the market and the consumer inflation rate, it wouldn’t be a good investment. So by definition it must become unaffordable for the masses. No great way out of this mess.

Unlike many other sectors where prices drop thanks to constant advances in Tech, what is weird is how Tech hasn't made a dent in Housing. Health I can understand cause it takes a long time to produce a Doc, and there is a high demand and low supply dynamic. But we can easily build housing cheap. Even if the real estate/investment lobby is busy buying up all the "prime" land, its not like the US is a small country to…

It's because of the government regulation and how localized it is so you can't pick a fight with just one regulator to force them to stop doing stupid, you need to pick fights with tens of thousands of local regulators (and their tens to hundreds of thousands of unionized government employees). On top of that, building is super capital intensive with long lead times to profitability that are fully controlled by said regulators so you can't pull an uber and just operate on a moderate sum of angel investor money while you also earn money from your service and flip the bird to the regulator. You don't make any money until you beat the regulator into submission, which makes beating the regulator a bad investment.

On top of all the above, you have teh general populace, of which a significant portion own housing they want to see go up so you won't ever get to the point where everyone sees the light and overwhelmingly supports you like uber got to, there will always be significant push back from the populace who want to abuse supply constraint to increase their personal benefit at the severe cost to all of us.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#98

Post by hackeraccount »

nelsonfigueroa wrote: post #14

I thought I would have a house in my 20s. Then I thought maybe by the time I was in my 30s. Now I’m in my 30s and I have no idea when I’ll buy a house, if ever.

Have you considered getting married? I may very well have been able to afford a house before I got married but the timing and the compromises that would have entailed always seemed to hold me back.

Once I got married though there was both more money and a realization that some possibilities (you know I might just pick up sticks and move across the country) were less likely. Plus expanding our family was very possible.

There's a reasonable view that says finding a spouse is a more major undertaking then finding a house. I honestly don't think that's the case. Go out on a date withe someone, if you enjoy it repeat that a few times. After 6 months imagine it'll be that way for the rest of your life,and then ask yourself, is it really that bad? If the answer is no propose marriage.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#99

Post by tim333 »

whatever1 wrote: post #6

This is not a U.S only or even a western issue. UK, EU, China, India etc all suffer from crazy real estate prices. I think the whole world is due for a big societal revamp. The old generation has concentrated too much asset wealth for the productive generation to stay productive.

I think we could do with governments actively trying to stabilize the value of assets like housing and maybe equities like they do with currencies. They could make a profit doing so as well but selling high and buying low.

Re: The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56

#100

Post by geor9e »

torginus wrote: post #62
hatthew wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that japanese houses are fundamentally different in that they are designed to be expendable in the long term, similar to cars. You don't buy a high quality house that you maintain, you buy or build a new house and then tear it down a few decades later.

Aren't US houses the same effectively? - Not necessarily in that they aren't built to last, but that they'll be rebuilt regardless in a couple decades.

I'm curious where in the US you're from, or where you've seen that. Florida coast? In the cities I've lived, most of the houses were built right after WW2 (80 years ago), and in some older neighborhoods, most of the houses date to the victorian age. I can't even imagine someone doing a teardown on one built within the "last couple decades" (i.e. built in the 2000s).
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