Will they ever be able to afford a house?

[Greg Tonoski]

Let's study the case of an average representative Gen Z and X. What is important or missing in the description (linked below)? What would you advise?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRXBY1HDRX9R555CtDvJ31uYbXBHuVlGSfdGOT3JtzAnwR4gms2Ltqgx9K5EhYAg8WA0uk-knhVHB3o/pubhtml

[btc78]

Well i’d say this pretty much sums up the average gen z and x person but this is in typical fashion of course not all people are gonna live their life like this due to many factors in life such as the state of their life even before they enter the work age

[Churchillvv]

So I looked at the sheet, and I saw that the 1980s are better than the 2023s, but I would say the data isn't correct because it seems to be one-sided. Only the disadvantages of the 2023s are in the data, and so too are the advantages of the 1980s.

I will advise you to balance the sheet first.

Mind you, there is a lot of sense in what you're trying to do. Rephrase it, balance the sheet, and let's see what the results are.

[franky1]

Let's study the case of an average representative Gen Z and X. What is important or missing in the description (linked below)? What would you advise?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRXBY1HDRX9R555CtDvJ31uYbXBHuVlGSfdGOT3JtzAnwR4gms2Ltqgx9K5EhYAg8WA0uk-knhVHB3o/pubhtml

the 1980's had universities too
there are people that are 50+ now with student debt meaning they too had student debt in the 1980's

yep even with people now in their 50's paying down their student debt for a few decades they are still only half way out of debt compared to people in their 30's just starting to pay down their debt

mortgages in the 1980's also existed. and if you look at the interest rates of the 1980-1990's when people were settling into families after university. you will see interest rates of the 1990's were higher then 2010's-2020's


yep people in the 1980-90's have mortgage rates above 7.5% and upto 18%
people 2000-2020 were below 7.5% and even down to 3%

[Poker Player]

Your scenario is simply too biased. In general I agree that there used to be less taxes and less regulations, but don't young people buy houses today? Of course they buy them, even though there are more difficulties.

There are difficulties of that time that you do not mention, for example interest rates at 17% in 1980. And facilities of this one that you don't mention either, such as earning money on the Internet.

What you have done is to try to demonstrate the idea you previously had, not to make a disinterested study on the subject.

[rat03gopoh]

1980 outlook:
Just do the work, no paperwork, no certificates (compare effort to obtain truck driving licence in 2023, work permit, opening restaurant etc.), no barriers other than competition.

Think again, maybe we just need to understand some of the sides this forum has been working on for years. Here you can "work" with anyone without contract documents, without expertise certificates, all on the basis of trust, transparency. And I'm sure that today the informal work space is developing where one can have an income like people used to, even faster just to get a house.

[adaseb]

Yeah right now it’s very tough for that generation. If they don’t already own a home, getting one is simply far fetched, with record breaking home prices and decade high interest rates.

The issue is worse because rents are up and along with inflation for everything else so people get to save less, they save less and they will never safe up for the down payment to get a mortgage. Hence why most are stuck renting forever.

[Jawhead999]

Only some of Gen Z and Gen X who can afford a house, while the vast majority aren't. Moreover they will buy a house with long term mortgage like 20-30 years, so if they buy when they were 25 years old, they need to wait until 45 or 55 years old to fully own the house.

They need to work very hard, but as we know the current generations aren't tough since they struggle with mental health issues and they always try to look for work life balance.

[mindrust]

Forget housing. Living in an RV is a better idea especially if you are young and working remotely. Don’t get me wrong, everybody needs a house sooner or later but you need to play it smart. Now the interest rates are high so no matter how cheap your dream house is, you can’t buy it unless you borrow money from the banks.


Buying a house is something but maintaining it is a whole different story. It costs lots of money. Instead of buying one, you can live a minimalistic life in an RV, save money for a few years and then buy your home without hurting your finances too much. That way your home’s maintenance costs will be easier to handle too.

[michellee]

Yes, everyone needs a house, but the land for housing will decrease over time. They will live in buildings with small rooms together with people who cannot yet buy a house. In the end, the dream of buying a house cannot be achieved because house prices will increase from year to year.

Living a minimalist life and renting a cheap apartment or house is the solution for some people. We admit that buying a house now requires more money. And that's why not everyone can buy a house. They could buy a small house for a family with a husband, wife, and two or three children.

And their children will also need a house when they get married. But the current generation is very lucky. This means they can work across countries without going to the office. And that's because the Internet helps them work. In addition, they can ask for higher pay if they have the skills required by the company. They can also freelance, which can generate large income. And maybe this generation can afford that expensive house.

[Greg Tonoski]

Well i’d say this pretty much sums up the average gen z and x person but this is in typical fashion of course not all people are gonna live their life like this due to many factors in life such as the state of their life even before they enter the work age

Thanks.

I will advise you to balance the sheet first.

Thanks and agreed. Would you suggest any additions? I am trying to collect the views from everywhere altough it's more difficult for me to get information about gen X perspectives.

the 1980's had universities too
there are people that are 50+ now with student debt meaning they too had student debt in the 1980's
(...)
yep people in the 1980-90's have mortgage rates above 7.5% and upto 18%
people 2000-2020 were below 7.5% and even down to 3%

Thank you for the insight. I presume it is about US.

Your scenario is simply too biased. In general I agree that there used to be less taxes and less regulations, but don't young people buy houses today? Of course they buy them, even though there are more difficulties.

There are difficulties of that time that you do not mention, for example interest rates at 17% in 1980. And facilities of this one that you don't mention either, such as earning money on the Internet.

What you have done is to try to demonstrate the idea you previously had, not to make a disinterested study on the subject.

Thanks and agreed. ("disinterested study" wouldn't have prompted feedback probably).

[bounceback]

Buying a house is something but maintaining it is a whole different story. It costs lots of money. Instead of buying one, you can live a minimalistic life in an RV, save money for a few years and then buy your home without hurting your finances too much. That way your home’s maintenance costs will be easier to handle too.

Regarding with your position still single or have been marriage, I think some one have marriage will understood how important with buying and they want back to young age want to prepare good financial and invested to buy house.
Actually year by year cost of house grow up significant and most important have to prepare its early before having family and we are spending too much money for daily needed.
I am agree with your for buying home without hurting our financial condition, many people push them self keep try with loan and buy house with monthly payment and price of house drastically expensive more than 300% regarding with loan interest have to pay. If still financial not stable yet don't buy house and hurt your financial condition, better living with small house not permanently before has own house in the future.

[Ruttoshi]

Buying a house depends on one's income and financial management. No matter how hard the economy is today, there are still young rich people who makes money at ease, and bought their houses. There were still people in 1980s that had the opportunity to buy a house but they didn't due to mismanagement of funds.

There is a lot of opportunities which technology has brought to our doorstep which we don't have to meet the government or see anyone to benefit from it. The internet has made many youths that are jobless to have something that they can do. Bloggers are making money, online jobs and the rest. Life might be easy then in the 1980s but there were still debts and poverty, This are part of human nature as everybody cannot own a house and be rich at the same time.

[Gozie51]

Forget housing. Living in an RV is a better idea especially if you are young and working remotely. Don’t get me wrong, everybody needs a house sooner or later but you need to play it smart. Now the interest rates are high so no matter how cheap your dream house is, you can’t buy it unless you borrow money from the banks.

If you want to know, some older people who missed the chance to buy their house at younger age will tell you how regretful they are because they misused the money they had then. It is a wise decision to have your home at young age so that even if you don't have money later you can put some part on mortgage or lease and that will keep bringing you some money. So don't throw away your opportunity to be rich in the future by throwing away the opportunity of investing in real estate at a younger age.

[Ucy]

Let's study the case of an average representative Gen Z and X. What is important or missing in the description (linked below)? What would you advise?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRXBY1HDRX9R555CtDvJ31uYbXBHuVlGSfdGOT3JtzAnwR4gms2Ltqgx9K5EhYAg8WA0uk-knhVHB3o/pubhtml

Seems the main cause of this difficulty is the way  things are made difficult for people who don't go through certifications.


Little emphasis should be placed on certification such as school and regulatory certifications. People should be employed based on how truely qualified they are for jobs, whether they have certificates or not. This will reduce the need to get them through expensive educations. And enable people to learn the necessary things via apprenticeship, good online tutorials for free or less than the cost of formal educations .
In regards to regulatory compliance, business owners who can't afford to be certified could meet (or even exceed) the required standards without paying for them. The regulators could randomly visit businesses to see whether they are doing the right things, rather than whether they're certified. They can then be certified when they are able to afford to pay and after going through verification to confirm that they have done the right things.

These should make it less difficult for the so called generation z to own their own homes without having too much debt.

[tabas]

IMHO, life was easier before than of today. You can even own house easier before because of the economies were not too tight and problematic than today. Today, if you go and see in most countries or just watch some videos related to real estate. Many of the current generation will say that they can't afford to buy their own real estate and can't pay mortgage. Due to how expensive it is, they are choosing to just rent and let it be until they can have their own house in a rural area where lands are quite cheaper than from the city.

[bluebit25]

I think this point of comparison is quite imposing when they are clearly different, "past and future" ,

but we are on a journey of faster development, and the difficulties that are a bit imposing, I think do not completely reflect what is happening. I don't know what people are like in the local area, but in the area where I live, real estate prices are increasing compared to the local currency, but that's not a problem because personal income is also increasing, perhaps partly. I live in a developing country so the current generation can access many jobs where they can have enough money to own land or build spacious houses. I'm not sure what everyone's housing and land standards are, but I see that in every period there are problems for that generation. If hard work is not rewarded, that is not the nature of generation life (fairness exists).

[Fortify]

Let's study the case of an average representative Gen Z and X. What is important or missing in the description (linked below)? What would you advise?

Similar arguments have been put forward generation after generation. They might have it especially rough though, but the reality is that it takes a long time and commitment to saving an acceptable deposit, along with a lot of sacrifice - that everyone who has bought a house has gone through. The government should take measures that prevent too many companies from sucking up properties that might otherwise be bought by individual homeowners, as they can act like vultures if not properly regulated. Besides that, the best thing these younger generations can do is get an education that will unlock decent salaries.

[Catenaccio]

If they can learn well, work hard, get good salary, they can buy a house.

Social political economic conditions are always changed and they will have to adapt to changes to live and to buy a house.

Education is key for their wealth.

There is a sizable and growing income gap between adults with a bachelor’s degree and those with lower levels of education.

[mindrust]

Forget housing. Living in an RV is a better idea especially if you are young and working remotely. Don’t get me wrong, everybody needs a house sooner or later but you need to play it smart. Now the interest rates are high so no matter how cheap your dream house is, you can’t buy it unless you borrow money from the banks.

If you want to know, some older people who missed the chance to buy their house at younger age will tell you how regretful they are because they misused the money they had then. It is a wise decision to have your home at young age so that even if you don't have money later you can put some part on mortgage or lease and that will keep bringing you some money. So don't throw away your opportunity to be rich in the future by throwing away the opportunity of investing in real estate at a younger age.

But the interest rates have skyrocketed lately. I am not sure if it makes sense to borrow money from banks right now.

Sure, if your monthly income is enough to pay the monthly payments, then go for it. But also take into consideration what will happen if you suddenly lose your job/business and fail to pay the monthly payments to the bank. You will lose your house. The banks will foreclosure it.

I am not saying RV should be your permanent home. If you have the cash or a reliable income, buy your home. I suggested a temporary solution anyways and RV'ing is cool/fun af when you are young.