Such a short-sighted comment. In 1995, when these mid-50s people were considering making their first home purchase, mortgage rates were around 7.93%, higher than today.
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/historical-mortgage-rates...
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/historical-mortgage-rates...
Also, in the 90s in Brooklyn you could get a condo for quite a lot cheaper -- the building I live in in Williamsburg was built a couple years before 1995 and the condos sold for $40k then (about $80k with inflation). Today they go for about $1.2 million. A 7.93% loan on $40k is quite a lot more affordable than on $1.2 million.
Williamsburg (and most of Brooklyn besides Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights) was cheap because it was pretty much a hellhole in the early 90s. Starbucks? Lol. Quality restaurants or cool nightlife? Train to Manhattan. Professional jobs? None. Murder & crime rates at their peaks. Williamsburg costs a lot because current residents benefit greatly from 30+ years of gentrification, community building and services.
And yeah I've been in BK for almost 20 years now, I remember hanging out in Williamsburg in 2000 when I was in college, it wasn't that bad. I actually prefer the old version of it to what it is now. Sure, it wasn't the Los Sures of the 80s by the time I got here, but it was a lot more fun. I only had my life threatened once and we deescalated quickly!
You've spent your entire adult life, 20 years, living in one of the most "cool, hip, upscale" neighborhoods in the world, obviously that location and lifestyle comes with a high price tag. If somebody repeatedly bought brand-new Ferraris for 20 years, you'd shake your head if they started complaining about money.
8% interest on 40k is only $63k interest paid (A 1995 home had a total cost of $123k)
8% interest on 400k is $633k (that same home in 2024 has a total cost of $1.2 million dollars)
Ummm, where?
And the parent comment was about the low interest rate ("nearly free money") not the amount.
What I do know is that many professional-class students can start their careers, i.e. first-year salary, at $100k and often significantly more. In 1995 nobody earned even $50k straight out of school. Economy-wide inflation numbers are weighed down by low-paying jobs, therefore greatly under-estimate how much professional (i.e. most likely to be home buyers) salaries and early earning potential has grown over the past 30 years.