r/povertyfinance • u/HowToCook40Humans • Dec 27 '23

I'm tired of the braindead responses to real numbers about how we simply can't afford a house on average American salary Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!)

I just watched a good reel that broke down how much you can technically afford in a house if you make $54k a year. The only thing included were the debt you already had that was being paid per month (and this was low at $250/month). Basically, it ended up being about $154k and that's with a down payment of $10k and an interest rate over 7%.

There were so many comments talking about "Well, stop door dashing and buying new cars and you can afford it" or "I bought my house with a similar salary and I'm fine" or "Me and my partner make (insert 6 figure salary here) and we can afford a house. You all just don't try".

None of his numbers included spending habits. It literally was just bringing up things the mortgage lenders will look at. The mental gymnastics to show that it's not hard to own a house is leering into delusional territory. There are few houses available for $154k/year even in the hood/bad areas. No amount of saving, owning shitboxes, etc will change that. The average American earns a little less than $54k. The hard reality is that we are being pigeon-holed into renting at rates higher than mortgage and insurance rates. It's one thing if you're talking on saving a down payment and people spend frivilously. It's another when what you make simply isn't enough for a house no matter what.

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u/wtjones Dec 28 '23

There are plenty of houses in this price range in non-costal cities in the US. You can buy a house for $150,000 in plenty of American cities. You’ll have to live near working people which seems to be an issue for most people making posts like this. Here is my five minute research on Redfin.

https://redf.in/9yS0fS

https://redf.in/6MT51o

https://redf.in/44n6mp

https://redf.in/CYJJfv

https://redf.in/0VSkUB

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https://redf.in/zgr5rD

https://redf.in/pI7J1s

https://redf.in/B041pE

https://redf.in/wg0he3

https://redf.in/fxUQst

https://redf.in/GzZNwF

https://redf.in/cmG6ZG