This is a free market.

Private businesses have every right to buy what they can "afford" to buy.

But when you have a Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at basically 0% and 30 year fixed mortgages for less than the cost of inflation, and factor in the profitability of real estate speculation due to websites like Zillow, Air BnB, etc...

this is the logical conclusion.

Speculation leads to overleveraging which has driven the price of the median home past $400,000 and has led to a housing shortage with a rent skyrocketing.

I say: "let the free market work".

Let Zillow lose money and readjust the prices of the homes lower till the market will bear those prices.

No bailouts.

No help.

Those potential buyers who saved up and are waiting for the market to crash will come in and buy where property makes sense.

"EVERY Bubble eventually finds a pin".

Hey tech or not if you want to know why your rent is so ridiculous is making most of you 'millennials' and 'zoomers' basically unable to get out of debt or own property, it's because of ridiculous stories like this: don't listen to the memes 50+ years ago when Boomers bought their houses not only did they made a lot more money for far less skilled jobs comparatively, but they were given tons of incredibly subsidized mortgage loans to do so (Well, if they were of the correct racial background that is but I digress)

Now most people that don't own a house are forced to move into "tiny houses" which is basically just gentrified trailer parks but just as tiny and just as unreasonably difficult to live day-to-day.

Zillow's home value estimates are hilariously over inflated as compared to say, Realtor.com. I had my home appraised last year and the Realtor.com estimate was dead even with my appraised value where as Zillow said my house was 22% higher in value than that of Realtors. If only...

Dimitriid said

Hey tech or not if you want to know why your rent is so ridiculous is making most of you 'millennials' and 'zoomers' basically unable to get out of debt or own property, it's because of ridiculous stories like this: don't listen to the memes 50+ years ago when Boomers bought their houses not only did they made a lot more money for far less skilled jobs comparatively, but they were given tons of incredibly subsidized mortgage loans to do so (Well, if they were of the correct racial background that is but I digress)

Now most people that don't own a house are forced to move into "tiny houses" which is basically just gentrified trailer parks but just as tiny and just as unreasonably difficult to live day-to-day.

Click to expand...

Yep. Do not believe everything you hear about Boomers having it so much easier back in the 1970's and 80's.

Early 1970's interest rates were HUGELY higher than now, reaching almost 20%. Try buying a house with that.

I don't recall that jobs were any less demanding or less skilled. Engineering in the 1970's was done with slide rules, no computers or calculators. Cars broke down far more often, most guys had to learn about carburetors, tires, transmissions. Travelling required people to read maps. If you got lost there was no convenient cellphone gps. I went through a 4 year machinist apprenticeship. The mechanical drawing classes were brutal: 3d rotations, projections, internal views, etc. Same with the math. Engineering school was the same. There was great emphasis on skill and self sufficiency.

And no, we did not make more money. Income has remained relatively flat since the 1970's so it's about the same.

However, since then, things have gotten FAR worse in other ways. The hatred and discrimination against Traditional Americans has gone off the charts. In the 1970's there was a sense of unity and belonging. Now it's the opposite. You can't hardly read a headline without veiled references to the evil Traditional Americans, especially males. The Covid lockdowns are destroying so much. There is no future.

Could there be anything possibly more rewarding, than watching those vultures fly into the side of a cliff?

Looks like Zillow contributed to a problem of their own making.

Tantor said

Yep. Do not believe everything you hear about Boomers having it so much easier back in the 1970's and 80's.

Early 1970's interest rates were HUGELY higher than now, reaching almost 20%. Try buying a house with that.

I don't recall that jobs were any less demanding or less skilled. Engineering in the 1970's was done with slide rules, no computers or calculators. Cars broke down far more often, most guys had to learn about carburetors, tires, transmissions. Travelling required people to read maps. If you got lost there was no convenient cellphone gps. I went through a 4 year machinist apprenticeship. The mechanical drawing classes were brutal: 3d rotations, projections, internal views, etc. Same with the math. Engineering school was the same. There was great emphasis on skill and self sufficiency.

And no, we did not make more money. Income has remained relatively flat since the 1970's so it's about the same.

However, since then, things have gotten FAR worse in other ways. The hatred and discrimination against Traditional Americans has gone off the charts. In the 1970's there was a sense of unity and belonging. Now it's the opposite. You can't hardly read a headline without veiled references to the evil Traditional Americans, especially males. The Covid lockdowns are destroying so much. There is no future.

Click to expand...

If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, then there is a possibility that you can contribute to making a better world.

Click to expand...

Noam Chomsky [link]

Tantor said

Yep. Do not believe everything you hear about Boomers having it so much easier back in the 1970's and 80's.

Early 1970's interest rates were HUGELY higher than now, reaching almost 20%. Try buying a house with that.

I don't recall that jobs were any less demanding or less skilled. Engineering in the 1970's was done with slide rules, no computers or calculators. Cars broke down far more often, most guys had to learn about carburetors, tires, transmissions. Travelling required people to read maps. If you got lost there was no convenient cellphone gps. I went through a 4 year machinist apprenticeship. The mechanical drawing classes were brutal: 3d rotations, projections, internal views, etc. Same with the math. Engineering school was the same. There was great emphasis on skill and self sufficiency.

And no, we did not make more money. Income has remained relatively flat since the 1970's so it's about the same.

However, since then, things have gotten FAR worse in other ways. The hatred and discrimination against Traditional Americans has gone off the charts. In the 1970's there was a sense of unity and belonging. Now it's the opposite. You can't hardly read a headline without veiled references to the evil Traditional Americans, especially males. The Covid lockdowns are destroying so much. There is no future.

Click to expand...

Some good points there. We each have our own battles . 70s had oil crisis ,cold war. manufacturing shake up - but it did seem a more carefree world .
Less people worrying about clothes, appearance and all that- work day finished forget about it - no emails, phone calls .

Maybe take a lesson from Traditional Americans - they can been called savages, godless pagans ( an oxymoron ) , wife beaters, alcoholics , lazy , diabetic , they have land stolen endlessly , treated as terrorist . ( read "Bury my Heart in Wounded Knee " - it uses white man's evidence - congress reports etc
Their world can't be solved by throwing money and baubles - hasn't worked that well in The USA, Canada, Australia, NZ etc - money can help.

It has to come within -concentrate on your own values , take pride in doing
Do you really care what a Woke person says ?
Also have self honesty - and reflect on changes - that were right .
Eg In early 19th century a women's place was to become a wife/mother uncomplaining , always smiling & feminine no matter how bad the husband was .
You wouldn't want your daughters now to marry such a person.
Back then "don't shame the family " "it's your fault he cheats"

Look life is not fair - but being born in America or NZ - it's already in our favour .

It's like the good message from Christianity - if you want people to find Christ and the Lord - lead a like of kindness and following the commandments and Jesus' guidelines .
I'm agnostic - but there is nothing wrong with that advice

2007? 1988? 1978? 1971? It's the cycle, baby..

QuantumPhysics said

This is a free market.

Private businesses have every right to buy what they can "afford" to buy.

But when you have a Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at basically 0% and 30 year fixed mortgages for less than the cost of inflation, and factor in the profitability of real estate speculation due to websites like Zillow, Air BnB, etc...

this is the logical conclusion.

Speculation leads to overleveraging which has driven the price of the median home past $400,000 and has led to a housing shortage with a rent skyrocketing.

I say: "let the free market work".

Let Zillow lose money and readjust the prices of the homes lower till the market will bear those prices.

No bailouts.

No help.

Those potential buyers who saved up and are waiting for the market to crash will come in and buy where property makes sense.

"EVERY Bubble eventually finds a pin".

Click to expand...

We should have let the banks collapse in 2008.

Dimitriid said

Hey tech or not if you want to know why your rent is so ridiculous is making most of you 'millennials' and 'zoomers' basically unable to get out of debt or own property, it's because of ridiculous stories like this: don't listen to the memes 50+ years ago when Boomers bought their houses not only did they made a lot more money for far less skilled jobs comparatively, but they were given tons of incredibly subsidized mortgage loans to do so (Well, if they were of the correct racial background that is but I digress)

Now most people that don't own a house are forced to move into "tiny houses" which is basically just gentrified trailer parks but just as tiny and just as unreasonably difficult to live day-to-day.

Click to expand...

I guess those of us that are responsible with their money, save, and can buy a house in their early 20s just dont exist then?

There are plenty of possibilities out there if you are not a financial m0r0n. Stop spending 100k on gender studies degrees, stop buying the latest iphone, eating out every day, and drinking starbucks every day, and like a miracle in a few years owning a home is within reach. Most of the millenials who are "too poor" to achive in life what their parents and grandparents did that I've met have been either too lazy or stupid to buckle down and do the work their predecessors did. They refuse to work overtime, save money, stop eating out.

When my grandfather was raising kids, he worked 12 hours a day at the local plastics factory in the winter, and did 3rd shift on the railroad the rest of the year. They drove beaters, ate potatoes and hot dogs most nights, and wore gently used clothing that was taken care of, because you only had 2-3 set of clothes. Where was his white boomer privilege? Right, it didnt exist for the vast majority of boomers, the "golden times" are rose tinted hallucinations by gen Xers and millenials sad they couldnt live the dream life, completely unaware of the work that went into those cushy jobs their parents had in old age.

Boomers made it work with 20% interest rates, cars that lasted 3 years, no AC, no mobile phones, no internet, no fast food, working 12 hours a day in factories. When boomers were having kids in the 70s the purchasing power of americans was decreasing by the day, we didnt pass the 1972 peak in purchasing power until 2019. If you cant make it today working 8 hours with excel spreadsheets, with 3% interest rates and the world's knowledge at your fingertips, you're doing something very, very wrong.

Just wait for a year or so when Zillow has another round of taxes coming due.
Then make an offer on a house. Or 5.

captaincranky said

Could there be anything possibly more rewarding, than watching those vultures fly into the side of a cliff?

Click to expand...

yeah ..... fly into a snow plow ..... cuts down on the survivors by a great margin!

A Business shouldn't be able to buy a single family home. A Single family home should be reserved for single families to buy a home.

Tantor said

Yep. Do not believe everything you hear about Boomers having it so much easier back in the 1970's and 80's.

Early 1970's interest rates were HUGELY higher than now, reaching almost 20%. Try buying a house with that.

I don't recall that jobs were any less demanding or less skilled. Engineering in the 1970's was done with slide rules, no computers or calculators. Cars broke down far more often, most guys had to learn about carburetors, tires, transmissions. Travelling required people to read maps. If you got lost there was no convenient cellphone gps. I went through a 4 year machinist apprenticeship. The mechanical drawing classes were brutal: 3d rotations, projections, internal views, etc. Same with the math. Engineering school was the same. There was great emphasis on skill and self sufficiency.

And no, we did not make more money. Income has remained relatively flat since the 1970's so it's about the same.

However, since then, things have gotten FAR worse in other ways. The hatred and discrimination against Traditional Americans has gone off the charts. In the 1970's there was a sense of unity and belonging. Now it's the opposite. You can't hardly read a headline without veiled references to the evil Traditional Americans, especially males. The Covid lockdowns are destroying so much. There is no future.

Click to expand...

also for @Theinsanegamer

Let me put it in simple numbers even though I'm not from the US.

In the 70's the median household income was $8734 with the median house value being $17000 (rent at $108). Mortgage fluctuated between 7 to 11% (official numbers).

in 2010 the the numbers were $49445 and $221,800 ($900). I'm too lazy to check for 2020 numbers, but as far as I know they're even worse than 2010.

Ignoring the sky high collage debts of today, just by income alone, it's literally 4 to 5 times harder to buy a home today. Income just didn't keep pace with the rising prices of homes (it's not just something limited to the US, I had the same issue when I bought my apartment last year).

Besides the lower prices of homes, there were many federal programs that helped with homeownership during the housing booms of 50s, 60s and 70s (especially suburban houses). The mortgage subsidies were very important during that period of time.