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Comment by lolinder | Hacker News Reader

Housing cost complaints are dramatically overstated on HN because SF and Seattle are dramatically overrepresented. Housing has definitely become more expensive on average in much of the country over the last few years, but it's not as crazy an issue in most places as it is in the places many HNers live, and there are plenty of places where housing is actually still quite cheap (for example, most of the Midwest).

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> housing is actually still quite cheap ... most of the Midwest

not based on the data

change in median housing prices as per Zillow, since 2017

Minneapolis: +50% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/5983/minneapolis-mn/

Omaha: +80% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/40152/omaha-ne/

St Louis: +62% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/6891/saint-louis-mo/

KC: +94% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/18795/kansas-city-mo/

OKC: +68% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/33225/oklahoma-city-ok/

Des Moines: +68% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/17759/des-moines-ia/

Milwaukee: +119% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/5976/milwaukee-wi/

Indianapolis: +103% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/32149/indianapolis-in/

Little Rock: +38% https://www.zillow.com/home-values/52998/little-rock-ar/

etc.

> there are plenty of places where housing is actually still quite cheap (for example, most of the Midwest).

The housing market in Madison, Wisconsin is crazy. I sold my house 8 years ago, and now its estimated value is 70% higher than my selling price. I know a lot of people in the area who are despondent about the prices.

I said most. There are exceptions, of course.

> I said most.

Ok, but what's the empirical justification for this claim? Why is Madison, Wisconsin a rare exception?

Madison is exceptional for a midwestern city. It has a large and excellent state university. Epic is based there and most of FAANG has outposts there to draw the CS talent. Additionally, it is the state capitol which means a lot of companies providing services to the state. Aside from all that, it is a pretty picturesque location for the Midwest, with the two big lakes and surrounded by rolling hills. Something you won't find in Urbana-Champaign for comparison.

When people talk about low cost of living in the Midwest they generally mean more depressed areas. I live in a very low cost of living rural (15k ppl) community in Illinois, with half an acre on a lake in a 3000 sq foot house where the mortgage is only 250k. Of course, if I ever lose my remote job, I'd never be able to find work. Most of the people here work at one of 2 medium-sized factories or the hospital. The median household income is only $40k.

The town I live in is a far more common case for the rural Midwest.

Ok, but the Midwest is also Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, etc.

> most of FAANG has outposts there to draw the CS talent.

I'm aware of a small Google office in Madison, but that's it.

when there are enough exceptions, they are no longer exceptions

there are areas where housing is still cheap (rural Iowa, Arkansas, etc.), but they're not areas where there are jobs so it doesn't matter how cheap it is

almost any major city these days housing is much more expensive than it used to be relative to income

It’s also quite bizarre to read these endless complaints, because by definition roughly 1 percent of communities must be in the 99th percentile of communities in terms of unaffordability.

Edit: That can never change either, in aggregate, so it’s literally futile to complain about it in general terms.

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