Ask HN: How are you managing during the housing crisis? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How are you managing during the housing crisis?

In 2020, I made an offer on a house at a (then) regular price. I ended up pulling out due to issues with the house, but that home's value has now more than doubled, along with the rest of the homes across almost all locales.

It is demoralizing to have had the chance to own property and then watch the rug get pulled from under you. With private equity firms and banks purchasing up the remaining real estate at inflated values, I have the nauseating notion that I will forever be a working class serf without property, bound to a long life of labor within my country's borders.

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Are you in a tech job? As long as you stay the course and pay attention to basic financial best practices you will get to a point where owning a house is a reality. Tech pays well and we’re not even close to the thresholds of struggle and poverty with even an average or below average tech salary.

You’re basically looking at peak market frenzy right now combined with a rush to buy before rates go up (even more) and an almost empty housing inventory because nobody wants to sell right now. Just wait and it will revert toward (although maybe not all the way to) the mean.

> I have the nauseating notion that I will forever be a working class serf without property, bound to a long life of labor within my country's borders.

I don’t know what material you’re reading, but I’d suggest re-evaluating some of the hyperbolic content that leads to make such claims.

>that home's value has now more than doubled, along with the rest of the homes across almost all locales

That home's price has more than doubled

It's value has only increased if you're willing to pay for it

Technicalities aside, house pricing has been going bonkers leading up to Covid, during lockdowns, and since easing because a lot of people have finally realized you do not need to be "near" work (for many jobs) - and those that you do need to be near to, often exist in lower cost-of-living regions...making those parts of the country look appealing to move to

There's also an increased desire for home ownership among some segments of society, and a relative lack of homes available (see, for example, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS)

Add a relative lack of building materials (and builders) vs demand for housing, and costs going into new construction are up, making the end product (ie the house) more expensive

> because a lot of people have finally realized you do not need to be "near" work

Ok, but then why are all the house, condo and apartment prices universally up in the HCOL cities as well?

It's not just you, I see this argument everywhere. But there's something weird about the following 2 arguments which go back to back...

1) Smaller cities, suburban, and rural areas are goes up in price because people no longer need to be in large cities for work.

2) Large cities are going up in price because nobody wants to live in the rural or suburban areas.

Forget housing for a second, can someone use a form of logic that isn't circular?

Well, I'm universally always deemed wrong here, but I think a few things are at play. While high earning folks were in lockdown...they got a good look at their "new bank balances" which no longer bore claw marks from gas stations, dry cleaners, Panera/Starbucks lunches, forced office parties, etcetera etcetera. The dry powder allowed them to make down payments on places in rural areas with a bit of land for the first time.

On the other side of the deck, people in the Large cities-who liked living there- realized that they could work from home -with a faster internet upgrade due to the aforementioned dry powder-and work in their onesies and get uber eats to bring them avocado toast and ice cream. Plus, when the people in the previous scenario ran away to the country, larger mouse traps opened up at great terms -for a short time only- in relatively better neighborhoods.

So landlords/homeowners...being the crafty folks they are...raised their selling prices...strike while the iron is hot and all that. In this scenario, an ill wind blew in and lots of folks took advantage. It just doesn't normally seem to work out that way.

I've been poking around online looking at lots of class c buildings in nyc. so many of then should be apartments instead of office blocks...solves the whole wfh problem -two birds, one stone-with one shot. as an example: 37 Union Square West. it hosted a farmers market right outside its front door pre-covid. no idea if it will be back, but this place has condo conversion/apartment conversion written all over it. now of course, the issue is supplies and workers. if its not one thing its another....

Become a politically active YIMBY or stop complaining.

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