The 'old American Dream died,' Realtor details salary needed to buy a home, afford a middle class life in 2024
finance.yahoo.com
TL;DR: Americans now need to make $120K a year to afford a typical middle-class life and qualify to purchase a home. Minimum.
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Just a reminder that high prices are a markets signal to build more.
Let people build housing, is it too much to ask for?
All the housing in the world won't matter if the same 10 people are buying everything up. Supply isn't our problem.
Op is saying it's a problem of supply not meeting demand
You're saying that supply can't meet demand if the rich have infinite demand
These aren't exactly incompatible. I haven't seen good evidence that demand from the wealthy explains the massive increase in housing cost, but you can both build more housing to increase supply and try to limit the wealthy buying too much housing. They're not incompatible
That makes no senes. We can literally build as much as we want.
It's literally illegal to build more in most places. Go read the zoning code.
I know... let us build!!!!
Or maybe part of the reason the prices are so high is that the price of building is also high with labor and materials cost increases?
Or maybe there is also a shortage of affordable, well placed, viable, empty lots to build on?
In San Francisco, probably the most economically productive city in the US, the government adds over $200k to the cost of each house with just permitting process.
Yikes, yeah that's another barrier to building that I didn't even think of. I can see what you meant by "let us" build more.
Just another example of how building isn't viable or affordable for everyone. My parents made the decision to build, but they also got the land long ago when the lot was cheap, and they did a large chunk of the work themselves including framing, wood floors, trim, doors, etc.
its a land problem. if you gave every homeless man half an acre yes they would literally just do that. however land has property tax and bums never open letters
so a simple micro acre tax free law would probably solve homelessness. it would have to be someplace like alaska or arklaska. of course these would be called concentratation camps by the far right but its a two bird solution. alaska could easily fit 50 million people
would you sign up for the free half acre in north alaska?
Arklaska?
Texas and california could easily fit an extra 50 million people. They're both massive.