We rent.
My new Time magazine issue is here and it's all about houses and the crazy real estate market. Just in time to remind me where I live. The average house price in this area has skyrocketed in the last few years and while that was great for all the homeowners, it sucks for everyone, who's trying to buy now. It's impossible to get a two-bedroom house for under $250,000, and you're not getting anything pretty or in great shape. It's still better than some other areas in the country where anything that includes a squarefoot of land seems to be reserved for millionaires. The Time articles give a good overall assessment of people going crazy over real estate, comparable to the way they did over the dot-com-boom in the 90ies, but to me this has another dimension to it. It's just a little bit disgusting when housing turns into this high-cost product, available only to the super-rich or the financially crazy (negative amortization loan anyone?). I understand people will go where the money is and there's nothing you can do about it, but really, aren't houses meant to be a place, where you live your life, raise your family or where you can just be, period? Why does it have to become your portofolio? A house should be a home, no?
I grew up in apartments, so I definitely don't consider a house a must, moreover sometimes I even think it can be a luxury. But that's a little ironic in a huge huge place like the US. Europe can claim a certain space scarcity, but here... I don't know. The funny thing is that buying a house always seemed like a normal thing for most citizens here, it's what happens ultimately in your life, like having kids or growing old. It's normal for people, who go to work every day and were spared major life tragedies. Unlike Europe, renting here is always meant to be a temporary arrangement. You rent when you're young and haven't saved up yet, or when you can't get a better job or something like that. Then you buy. But now, things have gotten of out hand, the salaries don' match the house prices, yet the assumption that hardworking people get a house is still there. I suppose if a family has two incomes it's viable, but then again it's not right for that to be the only option. Ironically if both parents have to work to afford the house, then this house will stay empty for the better part of the day and the week. I don't see much sense for me in this. It took me a while to realize what my "position" was since I'm renting and have no immediate plans to buy. There is no way you can ignore the beautiful houses of people supposedly at your social level or the nervousness of those, who are STILL renting. Speaking with other moms, the topic of housing is going to come up at some point at every conversation. Who bought what and for how much and was it the right thing or not etc. I'm not judging anyone, I partake in it myself. Only I've reached the point where I don't have much to say anymore. I don't want to explain myself to anyone and I have no desire to fill that silence in conversation after I say we are renting. It's all backwards. Why do I need to feel bad about my life all of a sudden? Because you don't know what to think of me, since you know, I don't own my home?
I'd love to have a house with a yard. Growing up I dreamed of a yard and a bike. I thought that was just for rich kids. The first bike I got at around 8 and the yard, although small, at 14. I'd love to offer those things to my kids earlier, but if I'm really honest, it's not my first priority. I like where we live and wouldn't move back to Indiana for nothing, not even the fact that now I could afford a beautiful big house there. Ironically when we were still living in Valpo, a house was just out of reach as it is now. I like it that my kids will be exposed to more nationalities and more skin colors than one. They will also see that there are rich people and poor people. We have a gazillion world-class museums about an hour an a half away. And the ocean is even closer. I could go on.
So according to the article I'm this person:"Or maybe you're a renter, paging longingly through listings of ever more unaffordable real estate, praying for a housing-market bust..." Ok, I'm not praying, but I am hoping. After all... what if we bought now and a few years down the road we want to sell and have a $50,000 loss? Shudder. Also, I don't want to chain myself to the house by spending my very last cent on it. Every month when I wouldn't have any money left to go to the movies or to dinner or save up for a vacation I would have to go look at my living room instead or admire my very own bathtub, which I, the owner, own, and tell myself that that makes me SO much happier than any beautiful memory I could be making with my children on a few days spent travelling somewhere. To each his own, but that's not for me. I will happily stay in my rental for the time being. Rent is goin down. The service staff is friendly and they come the day after you call them. I don't have to save up for sudden refrigerator or stove breakdowns. Now if they just let me paint the walls another color than bleached white...
I totally get where you are coming from. Here in the UK the prices of property has been going absolutley crazy for years now. You hang on and on hoping that soon it will all crash...but to no avail.
It wouldn't be so bad but for all the people who cashed in on this boom by buying second or even third houses to rent out. Now because no one can afford to buy, you are forced to rent...and because there are so many people needing to rent, the rental prices are really high!
Somethings gotta give!!
rent is going down? wow. that's neat. I wish I could say the same for us, but then again I think we have a really good deal here, despite my lack of a regular sized couch.
Here, the real estate prices haven't gotten too far out of hand, but at the same time it does seem like you almost have to have that double income. Even 25 years ago when my parents bought their first home, they had to tell the bank/mortgage company that my mom was going to return to work after I was born just to get approved for the mortgage.
We have friends who just bought a house and we see exactly what you're talking about... they're spending every extra bit they can scrape up to fix the little stuff that nobody seemed to notice when they were going through the process of buying the place. I'm learning from them that as much as I really want a nice house with a yard that I should be happy that I don't have to pay extra for upkeep right now.