Nation of mortgage slaves among Britain's young couples

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

LOL, what high house prices? Houses in Dallas are cheap cheap cheap.

Yes well someone that pretends they can afford the mortgage, taxes utilities etc on a $200,000+ home when their salary may only be $35,000 is going to run in to problems down the line.

$200,000 homes?

Not where I live. No $35,000 salaries, either

Well that's good to know, but your area is not in the norm then

Incorrect.

There is no norm. Not when entire states (mine is one of them - NJ) would have to "out of the norm" for said "norm" to exist.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

i WISH i could find a home for $200,000 in my home town! i don't think you can even find one for $400,000..and hardly any for $600,000.. lol

The only single-family homes near me that go for 400,000 are close to the ghetto AND are piece of #######, falling apart, cape cods built in the 50s or earlier.

[Jamie76 0]

The point of my original post is this. The median household income for the US is around $46,000. The average home price in the US is around $260,000.

Those individuals just starting out in their careers are on average not making $46,000 (I said on average now). They are probably making low 30s. Of course some are making way less, some are making way more...but on average again. These loans that are available now make these individuals believe they can truly afford these homes that may be around $200,000-$250,000 in price.

[sereia 0]

so true gupt. well not in my home town in CA. there's no such thing there! no ghettos in laguna. lol

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The point of my original post is this. The median household income for the US is around $46,000. The average home price in the US is around $260,000.

Those individuals just starting out in their careers are on average not making $46,000 (I said on average now). They are probably making low 30s. Of course some are making way less, some are making way more...but on average again. These loans that are available now make these individuals believe they can truly afford these homes that may be around $200,000-$250,000 in price.

Fair enough. You were talking national averages, I was talking regional. Out here, the national averages mean very little. (Edited: TMI)

But your point is valid. Another statistic that I just spent some time looking for, but could not find, is the average household income of non-homeowners vs homeowners. I saw it somewhere in the past. For my county, average household income for non-homeowners (speaking from memory here) is around 70k. For homeowners, it's closer to 130k. There will always be an income range for which buying a home is out of the question.

Edited June 3, 2007 by Gupt

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

so true gupt. well not in my home town in CA. there's no such thing there! no ghettos in laguna. lol

How far would you have to drive to be in the ghetto? About 25 minutes for me.

[Mags 112]

With what I sold my house for in London I could have bought a flippin' mansion twice over here. House prices here, in rural Indiana, start at around $50,000 (for a small 2 bed, small yard) to between $80,000-$150,000 for an average home (3 bed, 2 bath, good size plot) and $300,000 for a typical flippin' big mansion.

House prices around here are actually increasing at the moment, god knows why. Everyone is selling up and moving closer to Indy due to the sucky job market and high gas prices.

Edited June 3, 2007 by mags

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

$50,000??

A 2 bedroom condo in my neighborhood (condo, so no lawn) will go for about 250-300k.

The regional variation is amazing!

[sereia 0]

so true gupt. well not in my home town in CA. there's no such thing there! no ghettos in laguna. lol

How far would you have to drive to be in the ghetto? About 25 minutes for me.

hmmm i'd say 25 or more minutes on the freeway. longer if its regular roads.

[Mags 112]

$50,000??

A 2 bedroom condo in my neighborhood (condo, so no lawn) will go for about 250-300k.

The regional variation is amazing!

Yup, for $149.900 you could have this:

This:

This:

Or this:

And Greencastle is one of the greenest place in the USA, it's one of the Arbor Day Foundation Tree Cities.

Prices have gone up quicker than I imagined actually, can't find anything for $50,000, the cheapest was a trailer for $67,000!

Edited June 3, 2007 by mags

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The point of my original post is this. The median household income for the US is around $46,000. The average home price in the US is around $260,000.

Those individuals just starting out in their careers are on average not making $46,000 (I said on average now). They are probably making low 30s. Of course some are making way less, some are making way more...but on average again. These loans that are available now make these individuals believe they can truly afford these homes that may be around $200,000-$250,000 in price.

Medians and averages. Look, it's an individual decision no matter what. According to the loan officer at the credit union that we worked with when looking to buy a home, we could have afforded a home at 50%+ more than what we settled for. The home we live is is fairly new, fairly roomy and makes us happy. And the mortage isn't crushing us financially either. Too many people just like to max it out 'cause it just has to be a fifth bedroom and a fourth bath, not to mention the inground pool. That's just silly.

[dalegg 143]

$419,900 where I live (no, not the whole building).

[Jamie76 0]

The point of my original post is this. The median household income for the US is around $46,000. The average home price in the US is around $260,000.

Those individuals just starting out in their careers are on average not making $46,000 (I said on average now). They are probably making low 30s. Of course some are making way less, some are making way more...but on average again. These loans that are available now make these individuals believe they can truly afford these homes that may be around $200,000-$250,000 in price.

Medians and averages. Look, it's an individual decision no matter what. According to the loan officer at the credit union that we worked with when looking to buy a home, we could have afforded a home at 50%+ more than what we settled for. The home we live is is fairly new, fairly roomy and makes us happy. And the mortage isn't crushing us financially either. Too many people just like to max it out 'cause it just has to be a fifth bedroom and a fourth bath, not to mention the inground pool. That's just silly.

I totally agree that it is an individual decision...I wasn't saying it wasn't. With these types of loans though people believe they can pull it off when they should know better.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The point of my original post is this. The median household income for the US is around $46,000. The average home price in the US is around $260,000.

Those individuals just starting out in their careers are on average not making $46,000 (I said on average now). They are probably making low 30s. Of course some are making way less, some are making way more...but on average again. These loans that are available now make these individuals believe they can truly afford these homes that may be around $200,000-$250,000 in price.

Medians and averages. Look, it's an individual decision no matter what. According to the loan officer at the credit union that we worked with when looking to buy a home, we could have afforded a home at 50%+ more than what we settled for. The home we live is is fairly new, fairly roomy and makes us happy. And the mortage isn't crushing us financially either. Too many people just like to max it out 'cause it just has to be a fifth bedroom and a fourth bath, not to mention the inground pool. That's just silly.

I totally agree that it is an individual decision...I wasn't saying it wasn't. With these types of loans though people believe they can pull it off when they should know better.

It's all about personal responsibility - which ever fewer people are willing to accept. "Oh, they tricked me into buying this house. They told me I can afford this." My #######!

[brtlmj 0]

Renting is OK as a temporary measure, but why pay someone else's mortgage when you can be building equity?

Because you might be saving money quicker by renting than you would be building equity? If I remember correctly, if you can rent for 30% less than your monthly mortgage payment would be, it's better to rent.

Besides, with the market in a freefall, it's pretty easy to get your mortgage underwater. That means negative equity.