• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Will the middle class be priced out of housing?

bongsaway said:
Who can't afford a house making twelve bucks an hour?
Click to expand...

Lower income folks have ALWAYS had difficulty in both amassing wealth and being attractive employees to employers.

That's pretty much WHY they are lower income folks.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
It’s not the cost of construction labor driving housing costs up - it’s the cost of land, material and property taxes. State and local governments have a vested interest in having housing costs increase since that generates more property tax revenue.
Click to expand...
This is very true! All of that is happening.

I was inquiring about building affordable housing too. For those who can’t afford to pay over $100,000. This is almost non-existent. Except habitat for humanity. Low-income housing, who wants to talk about that, in a rural suburban areas? Not governments! Not land owners! Not residents!

Big mansions housing....big property tax revenue, that’s the life for me. That’s what everyone wants, but can’t afford. Time for a reality check.
 
gdgyva said:
so, you are forced to sell? why not sold on for now?

eventually the market will catch up....just going to take a while
Click to expand...


Bought a different house, much nicer and with a great view. We don’t want to carry two mortgages and if we rented it out now, it would not cover the costs ( mortgage, tax, damages etc)

Housing in much of Canada is way overpriced, the price the house is at now is much closer to a good real value for it than it was

As it is, the loss would is only 10%
 
My prediction is that the finance market is right. The US economy is going straight up due to the new presidency. Time to buy houses folks, you could cash in the dubble in a couple of years. :cool:

Juks said:
Acording to the finance papers in sweden the image that the US economy is gearing up for growth of a seldom-seen kind is continued to strengthen. But President Joe Biden is probably not done throwing firewood at the fire. Here is an article in english about it.

www.cnbc.com

10% GDP growth? The U.S. economy is on fire, and is about to get stoked even more

The U.S. economy has roared back to life in 2021, with first-quarter growth set to defy even the rosiest expectations.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com


Looks like a bright future is awaiting you (If the financial worlds establishment is correct in their predictions)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Truth is the middle class needs a raise. Salaries sure haven't kept up with prices. First house I bought in 1975 was on a lake and it was $32,000. Now those same houses on that same lake are selling between $350,000 and $500,000. My salary certainly isn't 10 times or more from what it was then.

Same with vehicles. They are 10 times or more expensive.

CPI certainly doesn't reflect that.
 
lacesaver said:
This is very true! All of that is happening.

I was inquiring about building affordable housing too. For those who can’t afford to pay over $100,000. This is almost non-existent. Except habitat for humanity. Low-income housing, who wants to talk about that, in a rural suburban areas? Not governments! Not land owners! Not residents!

Big mansions housing....big property tax revenue, that’s the life for me. That’s what everyone wants, but can’t afford. Time for a reality check.
Click to expand...

We bought a well made 17’x56’ (2BR, 2BA) manufactured house last year for about $70K (cash) including delivery and setup.

1616167071450.webp
 
code1211 said:
Lower income folks have ALWAYS had difficulty in both amassing wealth and being attractive employees to employers.

That's pretty much WHY they are lower income folks.
Click to expand...
Half of american workers make less than 35k a year. Meanwhile people like rudy charge twenty grand a day.
 
bongsaway said:
Half of american workers make less than 35k a year. Meanwhile people like rudy charge twenty grand a day.
Click to expand...
Not too many, (Some) single people are buying traditional houses, so maybe the median Household income of $61K is a better number.
Back in 1983, when I bought my first home, (@13%, OMG), they had a rule of thumb, that the home should not be more than
three times the annual household income. I wonder, with the much lower interest rates if that multiple is larger now?
 
I don't know why many areas restrict double wide's like they do. They are often built at the same quality as todays instant tract houses. I could certainly live in this one.

manufactured-home-advantage-2872-203.jpg
 
tacomancer said:
If you are trying to buy a home right now and you don't have significant amounts of cash, don't bother. People are bidding 20-30k over asking, even in poor rural areas.

www.daveramsey.com

Housing Market Predictions for 2025

Being aware of these real estate housing market predictions will help give you confidence about buying or selling a house this year.
www.daveramsey.com www.daveramsey.com

So what is your prediction? Is home ownership now a dream for the upper classes and will the US become a nation of renters or is this just another bubble caused by easy credit?
Click to expand...

If housing prices keep rising the way they have been in some places, renting doesn't solve the issue either. Rent usually tracks pretty closely with whatever a mortgage payment would be with 20% down, plus an extra 10% or so, at least around here. I.e. when housing prices rise like this, rents tend to as well. Supply and demand. If you're priced out of a housing market, renting in that market is also going to be quite hard.

The lower middle class is definitely being priced out in some areas. I'm in Boise, for example, and it's insane here. At the risk of boasting I won't cite values but our new house would sell for 25% more than what we bought it for six months ago. Think people are being priced out? Oh yeah.

www.ktvb.com

Priced out of the Treasure Valley: Housing prices skyrocket while wages remain stagnant

Home prices are up about 73% in Idaho over the last 5 years while wages have grown just 14% in that same time period, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.
www.ktvb.com www.ktvb.com
 
RetiredUSN said:
I don't know why many areas restrict double wide's like they do. They are often built at the same quality as todays instant tract houses. I could certainly live in this one.

View attachment 67323778
Click to expand...

The build quality varies considerably. Many have 2x6 floor joists placed 19.2” O.C. using 5/8” subfloor, lack structural siding (typically vinyl siding over foam board) and use 3/8” vinyl coated sheetrock with bats covering the vertical joints on the interior.

Ours has 2x8 floor joists placed 16” O.C., structural OSB (Smartside) siding and 1/2” sheetrock (taped, floated and textured) on all interior walls. It also has a 4/12 pitch roof (with ridge venting) which extends shingle life - most have 3/12 pitch roofing which is the bare minimum for shingle use (and lack ridge venting).
 
lacesaver said:
I have seen those houses driving done the road. Always wondered how much?

That is one solution. Thank you ,sir!

Yes! Land isn’t getting cheaper.
Click to expand...

We are currently paying $268/month rent for a 1/2 acre lot.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
The build quality varies considerably. Many have 2x6 floor joists placed 19.2” O.C. using 5/8” subfloor, lack structural siding (typically vinyl siding over foam board) and use 3/8” vinyl coated sheetrock with bats covering the vertical joints on the interior.

Ours has 2x8 floor joists placed 16” O.C., structural OSB (Smartside) siding and 1/2” sheetrock (taped, floated and textured) on all interior walls. It also has a 4/12 pitch roof (with ridge venting) which extends shingle life - most have 3/12 pitch roofing which is the bare minimum for shingle use (and lack ridge venting).
Click to expand...

The number knock against double wide's is the footing. Especially when you get "red neck jack legs" who can't read blueprints and end up not placing supports under the floors in the specified areas.

If they are supported correctly, they are as solid as any house per say.
 
Bought a house in 2016 for 160 it sold in 2020 for 320.
Daughter bought a house in 2016 for 120 needed tons of repair she didn't sleep 1 night in that house spent the last 5 years putting in a few thousand bucks here and there. During covid she decided to just get it done took a big loan out fixed it up. Got the town to deem it 2 lots +. She's closing in a few weeks at 450. In 5 years after holding costs and repairs shes looking at close to 200k profit.
So yeah the housing market is crazy everywhere.
I don't know what's going to happen I bought my first home making 24k a year. I could never have saved enough to buy that house. I remember not filing taxes for 2 years and on the 3rd I filed all 3 years. That was my downpayment money. My interest rate was 11%.
I have to think those making 40-50k a year now are stuck in renters land. With rent going up every year.
 
RetiredUSN said:
The number knock against double wide's is the footing. Especially when you get "red neck jack legs" who can't read blueprints and end up not placing supports under the floors in the specified areas.

If they are supported correctly, they are as solid as any house per say.
Click to expand...

Yep, if placed on cross runner type reinforced concrete footings (no more than than 8’ O.C. apart), capped cinder block piers under the metal frame rails and properly tied down they are quite stable.

1616172164370.jpeg
Perimeter pier placement varies, but are generally required on both sides of entry doors and any window openings 48” or greater. I have 30 piers under our (relatively small) single-wide and added structural (properly vented) skirting.
 
Last edited:
longview said:
Not too many, (Some) single people are buying traditional houses, so maybe the median Household income of $61K is a better number.
Back in 1983, when I bought my first home, (@13%, OMG), they had a rule of thumb, that the home should not be more than
three times the annual household income. I wonder, with the much lower interest rates if that multiple is larger now?
Click to expand...
A better number than saying half of americans make less than thirty five thousand a year? I'm sorry but what does 1983 have to do with the post?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Maybe not letting illegal immigration add people at a rate of 100K/month would help.
Click to expand...
Need the poverty immigration to add more strains on all basic needs. Americans can go to hell. Bidens big heart over his small brain.
 
bongsaway said:
A better number than saying half of americans make less than thirty five thousand a year? I'm sorry but what does 1983 have to do with the post?
Click to expand...
Sorry, the value of house that can be affordable vs the interest rate, it would change the monthly payment amount per $100K quite a bit.
 
longview said:
Not too many, (Some) single people are buying traditional houses, so maybe the median Household income of $61K is a better number.
Back in 1983, when I bought my first home, (@13%, OMG), they had a rule of thumb, that the home should not be more than
three times the annual household income. I wonder, with the much lower interest rates if that multiple is larger now?
Click to expand...
I don't know where you live but a traditional home as you say is about 350k.
Someone making 61k the supposed average, that's 5x's their yearly pay.
The places where housing is under 200k are places where wages are lower and jobs are harder to find.
I have a friend that lives in NY state not the city. They commute 2 hours to work into the city. There home is 2500 square feet with a pool, they have 4 kids. They both earn about 120k each. There property taxes are 18k a year. They would be considered middle class not lower not upper, just middle class in their neighborhood.
When they bought their house they told me they took on the extra burden of the taxes and the commute because they were going to pay more than 18k a year in private school tuition for 4 kids if they chose some of the lower cost areas. The last one is in highschool now and they cant wait to sell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom