Why do we obsess over ovepriced real estate?
invite response
2011 Aug 16, 10:48am 15,558 views 91 comments
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So yea many are forced to live at home for far longer than previous generations, but you can't say that a whole generation suddenly became lazy/stupid/whatever. Even if it did who's fault would that be? Barring some weird chemical contamination or shit it'd be the generation that raised them that would be at fault wouldn't it?
The other thing to keep in mind is that some people have pretty much become sandwich generations. This term means not only do they have kids of their own to take care of but potentially one or both set of grandparents. It might not mean living with them but checking up with them on a frequent basis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich_generation
In addition what one might have been considered "adulthood" these days might not be. Anyone can have a child as long as they are fertile and housing can be provided by the government (section 8). Of course it is not a mature thing to submit someone into levels of poverty to do it but some do.
This website dismisses the concept of house ownership largely because it is frankly too expensive (and in most cases it is). I also dismiss it because the social concept is passe. If companies can move but people cannot then who has the advantage? I'm not advocating constantly moving but the days of finding some rock hard stable job and staying put in a location 30+ years are long over.
If someone rents they don't have to put a house on the market and try to sell it and wait longer...and longer.
We are tired of the overpriced re market and are renting. We like the flexibility. After selling a house and all the stress involved, we are not sure we want to jump back into that mess.
FortWayne
2011 Aug 19, 2:57am
life was generally easier back when there was less people around.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Thesis
“Nessuna soluzione . . . nessun problema!„
more resources available, less competition for them. makes sense.
FortWayne
2011 Aug 19, 2:58am
So yea many are forced to live at home for far longer than previous generations, but you can't say that a whole generation suddenly became lazy/stupid/whatever. Even if it did who's fault would that be? Barring some weird chemical contamination or shit it'd be the generation that raised them that would be at fault wouldn't it?
As we used to say back in the days: "It takes a village to raise a child." Who is the blame? Parents.
Of course lately politicians would blame this on the Tea Party grassroots movement somehow, it's the new cool in Washington.
Real estate is overpriced by there are no controls over appraisers and they work for commissioned salespeople. Biggest conflict of interest in history!
The states want it this way so property taxes will keep rising.
Read: "The Truth About Real Estate Appraisal" by Stephen G. Bishop
Weeell you have to bear in mind too that this young generation doesn't have the same economic opportunities previous generations have.
This is definitely true. The younger generations don't have cheap cost of living, cheap education, and cheap housing, among other things. They also don't have the guaranteed pensions of the older generations and have fewer job opportunities, partly because of demographic reasons. Most of these excesses of the boomer generation has been funded by these younger generations, so it's no surprise they have fewer economic opportunities.
freak80
2011 Aug 22, 3:07am
I don't obsess over overpriced real estate. ;-)
Where I live, a small decent house in a decent neighborhood can be had for $100k.
The rents, on the other hand, have been driven up by an influx of natural gas fracking employees. Here the "price to rent" ratio is at the other extreme relative to the bubble in CA. I currently pay $750/month in rent for a 1br apartment, but I could get a decent house for less money per month.
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I only ask this because if I stop and think about it there probably isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about this very subject: overpriced real estate. What's more its been on my mind for probably 7-8 years now, or at about the time the idea of buying a house first entered my mind since I was about to get married. Prior to that real estate was simply something un-obtainable because I spent years making minimum wage before landing some good jobs.
I'll come out and freely admit that the subject in general brings a lot of frustration. But perhaps the biggest reason is that I can't totally put my finger on why its frustrating.Perhaps it says something about human psychology. A great deal of buying a house has nothing to do with finances and everything to do with idealized, romantic notions: People who have kids, get married, land a good job, or whatnot do so because the instinct- whether true or not ( I'd probably go with the later) to them means some sort of stability. Its largely a symbolic gesture. As I always tell my friends who own houses... we're all going to wind up in retirement homes anyway, which is rather unflattering but for the most part true.
Maybe its because deep down inside I feel that since I was born and raised in an era where seemingly everyone just bought a house when they got older ( I came from NC where this was for the most part a given) that there surely must be something wrong with why I can't. It could also be because we're wired to think- whether we want to admit it- that someone who owns a house simply must be doing well- even if in fact they're going broke or about to go bankrupt. We measure success by possessions.
Or maybe its because I'm interested in economics and the situation with housing in the Bay Area makes no economic sense in terms of what people can actually afford- even on often very generous incomes. Yet people still buy and probably do it by the skin of their teeth- which further adds frustration because I won't do that.
Anyway... a long rant. But perhaps some of you have your own thoughts and opinions. All I can say is that I'd someday like to not think about housing anymore. Its sort of getting old.
#housing