We have married couples with 2 kids today with graduate degrees that make a combined $200K+ and live as tight or tighter than my parents did at that age IF they were fortunate enough to buy a home at the right time. That's CUH-RAZY.
Also, it was NOT $300k. It would have been like $225-250k max. They would have over tripled their home value in that time.
Did my parents scrimp and save to afford that first home? Absolutely. But they were able to do it by living in a 2-bedroom apartment and sharing 1 used car for 4 years.
Could anyone do that now? Pffft.
I pay what many would consider an absurd amount in rent, but I cannot fathom ever having enough money to buy in my neighborhood. Like, the totally modest house with no yard that I rent would cost me $1.6+ million to purchase. That's insane.
And I'm JUST middle class. Add in the fact that I'm a single mom of 3 kids, and actually I might be lower middle class, IDK.
Be so for real right now. This is so beyond avocado toast and Starbucks runs.
LOL, I just looked up that starter house my parents bought in 1988 for $300k. It had no central AC and it was in a really shitty school district and back then it was just on the edge of a dicey area crimewise. 3 beds, 2 baths, 1200 sq feet.
If they had lived there for 30 years, they would have paid it off in 2018. Its still in a shitty school district, but its a safe neighborhood now. I would imagine someone put an HVAC in it by now.
The market value for that home today on Zillow is $765,000.
If someone told a married couple ages 27 and 33 TODAY with a baby and a toddler "hey if you're willing to thug it out in a 2-bedroom apartment and share 1 used car for 4 years, you could buy a 3 bedroom/2 bath house with a yard" - you think they wouldn't take that deal?
Was that mortgage a heavy lift for my parents? Yes. Did they live SUPER tightly while we lived in that home? Also yes.
But while I don't know exactly what my parents made in 1988, I would probably guess they didn't make over $40k combined, MAYBE 45K if I'm being super optimistic.
