“IN THE 1950s, the average New York City apartment rented for $60 a month — around $530 in today’s money. With the US median wage at $5,000 a year, New Yorkers spent 1/10 of their salaries on rent. After World War II, apartments were so cheap and available that Manhattanites would regularly move every September just to get the landlord to repaint their new home. In those days, an apartment was a place to live. Now it is as much an investment as shelter.”
Interest rates rising over the past year have made the cost of home loans out of reach for most everyone, unless you already have a home asset to trade upon. I believe right now rates are in the high 5% to mid 6%. For the average suburban home in Seattle metro, given a reasonable downpayment, you’re still looking at around $5K a month for a 30-year. Seattle is way behind on its growth management, too many NIMBYs, not enough density, not enough houses so the rate hikes haven’t really depressed home prices much.
Just saw this old post. Both home values and rental prices are OFF THE CHAIN now!
Our primary house (Maryland, bought 15 years ago, renovated a lot of it over the years) will bring double our purchasing price when we sell (probably in 2-3 years).
Our rental condos (Maryland) are bringing in 50% more than we could get for them just 3 years ago.
Our family coop (NYC) was a deal two years ago, probably only worth the same now since NYC real-estate keeps fluctuating.
I’ve been looking for a Florida place to AirBnB/VRBO then live in a few months of the year, but that area is ridiculous when you have my AirBnB requirements.
