David ChartierDec 16, 2024

The average age of homebuyers in the US is now 56

The median age of first-time buyers is 38 (up from 34 last year)

The share of first-time buyers dropped from 32 to 24%

The median home price is now $435,000, which is up THIRTY NINE PERCENT since 2020

This is so astoundingly fucked

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/04/homebuyer-average-age-rises-to-56-amid-rising-homeownership-costs.html

The average age of U.S. homebuyers jumps to 56—homes are 'wildly unaffordable' for young people, real estate expert says

With home prices up nearly 40% since 2020, buyers are now wealthier and older, making them more likely to outbid younger buyers with all-cash offers.

CNBC
Show thread14missionDec 16, 2024
@chartier That 39% inflation since 2020 is nuts.
We like to think that California sets trends for the country, but it's not in a good way this time.
In my neck of the woods high prices have been driven by decades of NIMBYism and limited construction, but I didn't think those were such big factors nationally.
Show threadMichael CookDec 16, 2024

@14mission @chartier At least in my area builders build only 4 things:

Apartment complexes, expensive condos, old folks homes, and 4+ bedroom homes. If they’re stuck with one tiny lot you might get a 3 BR.

Want a starter house? They were all built in the 60s or before and are snapped up in minutes if they even appear on the market.

The ASP is so high not because only people with money can afford to buy. It’s because there’s nearly nothing less than $450k. I’m in an ‘affordable’ area.

Show threadobscurestarDec 16, 2024
@foobarsoft @14mission @chartier We barely managed to get a severe fixer-upper (1947 build) when the market tanked in 2008. But even then it was hard as a first time buy with a FHA loan, we lost a half dozen places because someone else could pay cash and then just sit on the property to keep the rents of other places up, the houses unlived in for more than a year after we'd bought and moved into ours.
Show threadMichael Cook

@obscurestar I live very close to some very nice small 3 BR places built early 2000s. I don’t need/want 3BR, but I think after 2008 I might’ve been able to afford one, but it would have been tight. They were in the $250k range? But I was young with my first real job. Didn’t seem the time.

They’re now $550k or more. Snapped up very fast when they go up. Totally unaffordable despite advancing a lot in my career in 15 years.

Crazy.

Dec 16, 2024 at 8:24pmIvory for iOS
Show threadobscurestarDec 17, 2024

@foobarsoft Our house is 800sqft. Enough space for two.

It's terrible out there. The rents are ridiculous now compared to what we were paying prior to buying. We could rent out our home, RV around the country, and still be putting a small amount in savings at the current rent rates. It's madness.