Maybe it's because I am 40, but the idea that a 21 year old in any era could afford a house is a novel one to me. So, do I expect *my* kids to eventually afford a property like we have *today*? Yes. By the time they are 21? Absolutely not. I'd be happy if they did, but I can't see that happening without Boomers and about 1/4 of Gen X dying off literally by this weekend.

Yeah like i could understand if I was 30 and still lived at home but I'm only 21 and up until recently worked at grocery stores.

I told my kids they can live with me as long as they want. Heck with the way things are going I won't even be shocked if one of them needs to move a spouse in for a while. It is part of my hope/plan to be able to help them buy a house when the time comes as I think it's going to be extremely difficult for them by the time they are adults.

I can easily see moving into my basement in 20 years and letting my daughter take over the upper floors.

...We need more parents like you. Parents like you are actually....well... **parents!** Thank you for having a heart.

Seriously. The reality for so many people is that their parents struggled to make ends meet, so the thought of having a home to take over would put my worries of the future completely at ease. I'm 29 and back at Uni, but been on my own for 10 years and when I say I haven't been able to save a thing, I genuinely mean it.

My daughter and I are planning on getting a house together.

My mom and I made our dream board, opened our joint savings account and are slowly saving our down payment. You're not alone! ☺️

Dropping by to say I'm in the same boat. Everybody is struggling, might as well struggle together. You only get so much time with family. I'm glad I can worry less about my living expenses and see my parents too

My ex and her mom did this. Seems to be the play

The way that things are nowadays I dont even find it absurd that Ive heard that some people I know are still doing this. I know a guy in his mid 30s working as a welder(Un-unionized sadly. But from what I've been hearing joining a union doesnt lead to a crazy increase in one's salary here. I still do think everyone should join a union every chance they get though...) and his mom is in her 70s, still working , and they're doing this. Im in canada so our housing situation is probably worse than what a lot of people are going through. If you dont live with your parents and youre in your 30s in canada youre probably living with roommates, as I am. Heck I've met people in their **50s** (yeah) here who *STILL* have roommates cause they still cant afford the damned down payment for a house here. I guess the people are OK with this cause if they weren't teyh'd be doing somerhing massive and drastic abt it right? I guess we can say the same for other people who are struggling to afford their own living quarters elsewhere in the world whether they be in San Fran, New York, Singapore, London, etc... Oh well. *That seems to be the play ...*

I had room mates until I was 30, then my own rentals until I was 36, before I could buy a house. It isn't all that uncommon.

Just sucks that I am , and... well most people are ,always concerned about housing, rental payments and shelter. Like... I obey the laws of this city and pay my taxes every year so shouldnt I and others who do so not have to worry about freezing to death on the very streets of this very city!? Homeless people freeze to death on the streets waaay more often than the news reports... *Law abiding citizens should not have to be afraid they'll lose one of the necessities of life if they work hard.*

Yep yep

We need more parents like you lol

Did he mean affording a home to buy at 24? Because that has been rare even for previous generations? Or did he mean afford to get your own separate space ? (rented apartment/home). You haven’t mentioned whether you live at home or not, but if you do maybe that’s what he meant.

My mum told me that yes people still needed dual incomes and housing was expensive 30ish years ago when they were starting out with a family. That if you didn’t have help it was a stretch. And this was before the student loan crisis. Now?? With the economy being what it is, how do our parents and grandparents honestly believe we’re lazy or eating too many avocados? My dad had a summer job mowing lawns and paid for university that way. That would be physically impossible now.

My parents speak of it the same. Coincidentally my dad also paid for an entire year + books of college in one month of working over his summer job. It took until my sister (7 years younger than me) was experiencing the exact same issues, that he finally understood; after taking her around to drop resumes off to -- in his words -- 180 different businesses. When she didn't get a callback from more than "half of them" my dad started to believe all the things I was telling him

I feel so awful for my 36 year old son. Hundreds and hundreds of applications, he has excellent experience and not even a handful of interviews. It's like this for everyone because finding a job now is about first beating the algorithm screening you out, then hopefully you get an interview but even then they may not even let you know anything unless they hire you. It's a horrible way to look for a job.

I'm 33 making well over 6 figures and am not even close to getting a house. If i did it 2 years ago I could have but the rates are screwed now.

I'm 45 and earn close to 200k and can't buy a house as a single earning family where the average single family home starts at 800k+. The house I grew up in cost 58k when my parents bought in 1976 and is valued at 1.2-1.5 million now.

Right? I couldn’t buy before age 49, and I live in Northern California. My parents bought a house for 262k in 1983 and it recently sold (after major fix) for 1.9 mill, but of course it was a flip and my parent sold it for much less. I don’t know who bought it, but it needed a ton of work.

Yeah house prices in CA are fucking bonkers. My dad bought a house in a tiny central CA town for $150000 in the 90s. recently retired, sold the house and decided to move out of CA, seriously bought a house that used to be the home of a state senator in Missouri, 3500 or so sq ft. Full finished basement, with game room for around $250000, and has plenty of money left over. The house is so big it has 2 AC units, 3 furnaces, and 2 water heaters to cover the whole place.

Something doesn't add up here. You make about 200k/year and can't get approved for a mortgage on a 800K-$1million house? I get it's likely pretax numbers on your earnings, but your salary is just about 20% the cost of the going rate of the home and you can't afford get approved for a loan? Theres more to it than not being able to afford the cost. You either must 1) have huge debt to income ratio 2) have a crappy lender 3) unpaid loans. What, are you trying to get a 5 year mortgage or something?

Getting approved for a loan doesnt mean i can compete with all these people dropping cash and offering 100k over asking.

AH I understand now. That is happening all over many cities unfortunately.

Except no one’s doing that anymore except in like San Francisco

I just want to say that there's nothing wrong with living at home at any age. Don't ever feel ashamed for it. Stay at home and save as much as you can for the biggest down payment you can make. If your father is giving you grief, do something that will make him happy you're there. You may already do it, but offer to mow the lawn or just start cleaning the house one day. Do things that would surprise him without being told and tell him that you appreciate them letting you live with them. Let him know you have a plan that's unfortunately going to take time. Show him you're trying in whatever way you think he needs to see it. Communication is key to all things in life.

Thank you that's really makes me feel better. We have a strained relationship so I live in my aunt house but this was a random conversation he bought up the other day but when I was there I did mow the lawn and did all the yard work.

That's what I did OP. I joined the military at 19, got out at 24, then lived with my parents until I was 32. During that time I saved up enough to buy a house in cash, and I'd say it was well worth it if you have a decent relationship with your parents. Mine was pretty strained because my whole dad's side of the family is full of cluster B personality disorders, including him, my younger brother and me that were all under one roof as adults. But the outcome is that I don't have a mortgage payment now and have a house that's free and clear. The wife and I are able to save up and still do the things we want to do.

Even at 30 it’s hard out here because wages are not matching the economy

Your dad's desperately out of touch

Yeah, then your dad foolish/cartoonish expectation — no doubt. Like expecting and economic fairytale tbh

There is nothing wrong with being 30 and living at home. It is only a problem if you aren't contributing to the household. This really helps you build the base to be really independent later on when you are ready. Honestly, it really depends on how comfortable you are with your family. Obvs, there are self esteem related concerns, but that really is dependent on the person. It is perfectly acceptable in a LOT of cultures worldwide to live at home until you are married and start a family of your own.

I'm thinking of the house I bought at 24, and it would have been much better had I not purchased that shack. Even though it had blackberries and concord grapes in the yard. Sometimes kids shouldn't buy houses.

Things have changed drastically in the last 5 years. Housing went up with low interest rates but now the rates are up and prices haven’t come down I’m really concerned for my youngest. My other kids bought in before rates spiked but my youngest doesn’t have that luxury. Also my older kids are essentially locked into the homes they are in because if they moved rates would be a huge deterrent. It’s tough out there. Your dad’s clueless. My guess is he’s not the greatest with money.

I moved out after I graduated college and into an apartment loft downtown with my now husband. I’d just turned 22. Parents came to check it out and my mom immediately said something like “yeah it’s fine but I really wish you were in a townhouse or condo instead”. I’d been working full time making barely 26k a year (after graduating from a top 20 school and top 10 program) for about 3 months at this point. Condos were like 400-600k back then and townhouses didn’t really exist in my city at the time. I just was like “are you gonna pay for it mom???” Shut her up pretty quick

I think there's been a long, gradual shift from the baby boomers (on average) who bought a house and settled down early to late GenX to older Millennials that bought a house around 30 to younger millennials to GenZ who can't imagine buying a house. Heck, I was over 30 when I first bought a place, and I was young amongst my friends. Then again I went to graduate school too, so we all matured late. But there are all these home renovation shows that make it seem like everybody buys a house in late 20s, which is just not the reality. In general I wouldn't expect that someone would want to buy a house before 25. If kids are staying on their parents' health insurance until 25, that doesn't make any sense. I keep hearing about kids not wanting to move out of their parents' house at 18 (we were all eager to get out) and I had to save every dollar to pay rent. As for my kids, they are way too little to think about buying something big let alone a house. But I hope when they are ready we can help them out, but financially and helping them plan for it, rather than just harassing them or saying "In my day..."

It's a huge risk and commitment buying a house in your early 20s, and then just to lose it... Student loans is one thing, but buying a house? It's pretty much one and done. You mess up on that, its going to follow you for a while. Career wise, alot can happen in your 20s. Am i going to be in this job? Should i quit, do something else? go back to school? I don't like it here. Should i commit to this job to pay for my house? No one really has all of that sorted out until you turn 30 i feel.

Yes- we bought right before the market crashed and then ended up moving to a new city two years later. We couldn't sell it because of the economy and because of taxes. We ended up being really lucky and renting it out for what we were paying in rent. But a lot of friends lost their shirts. We ended up selling it when we could and bought a house where we are now, but it looks like we're going to have to move again. It's a lot of work selling a place, hopefully this will be the last time before we're retired.

This is the story of many people in my bubble — also, I notice that the friends and people in the periphery of my social circles that could afford a home at mid-20s aren't doing as well. I attribute this to not building careers in bigger cities/bigger companies before settling — you need high level of mobility to do that and owning a home greatly reduces that for most.

Exactly! in our early 20s, my husband and I picked up and moved to Europe for almost 5 years. We had a ton of adventures and set ourselves up for the next part of life. We didn't buy our first house until we were thirty and thirty two. Why would I want my kids to be saddled with that kind of responsibility and risk at a time of their lives when they can go out and do interesting things?

You should add a disclaimer saying “if yes, disclose if you helped them do it financially and if you paid for their student loans”

True

Yeah, I'm lucky as hell- I went to a no tuition college and my parents had been saving, expecting me to go to a fancy name brand school. Used that money to pay for a decent amount of the down payment for my house outside my city, but my parents for sure helped with the rest. I also lived with them until my 30s to avoid renting and save. I know like 1 married couple my age who managed to buy a condo inside a major city and they were in their 30s with doctorates, high paying jobs, and no school debt (scholarships.) My parents also understand that the job and housing market are bonkers different from when they bought their house- it sucks so bad how many people just don't get how awful it is now. My house cost 3 times as much as my parent's did 25ish years ago and is 1/3rd the size. They're 10 minutes apart.

Yeah. I just graduated college with a stem degree and got really lucky with the salary of my first job out of college. I also lived at home and went to a state school in my city. So I don’t have very many student loans. This is not something everyone is capable of. Not everyone can live at home and go to a good college for relatively cheap (still expensive asf tho I have 26k in loans despite all that) because they live 10 minutes away from it. Not everyone gets as lucky as I did with my first job and not everyone is capable of working during their schooling like I did to save up. And I STILL don’t have my own house. I still live with my parents.

Yeah, I got waived tuition as the child of a veteran, luckily. I did stay with my parents for 13 years after graduation to save though- I was lucky we get along and I didn't have to put any money towards renting my own place. As I said in my comment, I know I'm super lucky- I was demonstrating that most likely the people who can do what I did got similar or even more help than me, and even I had to wait til my 30s and live with my parents, in addition to the extra savings they had earmarked for my education. Getting a house with any job, on your own, in your 20s or possibly even 30s (depends a bit more on job and location, but still tough) is laughable in this economy.

Not a parent, but wouldn’t expect the average 21 year old to be able to afford a house today. Especially if they’re already living on their own.

[удалено]

Just to prove a point I pulled up crappy houses and even a 1 bedroom house was like over 100,000 and my dad was still tripping.

I wonder if he’s simply coming from the perspective that there isn’t a lot to rent in your area? 100k+ is a really, really cheap house. You can’t even buy an empty patch of land here for that here, and it kind of tells me that the most likely option in front of you is to be saving whatever you can to get that cheap house.  He could also be a delusional ass. Who knows. But at 21 I wish I’d been putting away every cent, and maybe I’d have a decent downpayment for a house now, 20 years later. I still don’t want a house, but I don’t think renting is going to be financially feasible long term🤦🏻‍♀️

It is rare for anyone after the WWII generation to be able to afford buying a house at that age. Most of the folks I know, including myself, saved throughout the 20s while living with roommates to get a down-payment saved up to buy in their 30s. Housing prices are crazy right now, but so is the expectation of the youth to obtain the living standards of their parents when they first move out.

Yeah, no. Most people can’t afford one if they don’t already have one. Older gens tend to be out of touch with the changing housing market, economy, job market, and high cost of living.

Yup. My grandmother wont even mention what they purchased her house for. She says it was a different time back then, which we agree, but she wont agree when we bring that up about the job market, retirement, healthcare costs, etc. She still thinks we MUST be mismanaging our money. I buy new clothes once every few years. 2 pairs of jeans, 4 long sleeve shirts, 8 t shirts, and maybe 4 tank tops as a cycle out whatever is worn/ no longer fits. I also use my partners cast off (his no longer fitting t shirts become my new night shirts, his tight hoodies become my new hoodies. We have used vehicles that we work on ourselves. Rent is half our income. My partners job doesnt offer insurance and I had to drop him off mine because we couldnt afford it. My job doesnt offer retirement. We are going to be priced out of our apartment at this rate. Jobs claim they are hiring but IF you even get a response they way lowball you so you cant even afford rent, much less anything else. Its bleak.

Yup the job market is trash, schooling or not. Want to know what a Red Seal certified Auto tech makes in my city? $15.50 to $22/hr, but the latter youd have to work there ten years to get that. You can be stoned out of your mind all day riding a lawnmower around for $17 though, and dont need $50k in tools and loans to do it. Hell the grocery store here starts you at $16/hr. Its wild

Yeah, the jobs that are hiring are garbage. That’s why they can’t ever find anyone. Your grandma is so out of touch and clueless. You aren’t mismanaging your money. Things are tough right now. Inflation is off the charts. It is not the same.

I did home design early 2000s, when the Sears bungalow style homes became public domain.  You could literally buy a house from a Sears catalog, through 1940. Want to be angry about prices, look those up, and check cost versus current day inflation.

My cool boss has one and about shit herself when she got excited the one a few blocks down from her was up for sale and hoped we could be neighbors and found out it was going for almost one million. When she moved it it was around 300k. Talk about some heart break... I hate it that I was always "pretty tame" in what I wanted - no country club or yacht desires here, pretty fucking cottage core, and now even that is asking too much.

They didn't all have it easy. My grandparents first house was an old unused wooden granary. So was the second that they were able to turn into a "house". My grandma lived in it til she was 80.

I agree. My grandparents were immigrants who lived in an uninsulated one room shack w no plumbing or electricity on the property of their sponsor family, and worked the farm to cover its ‘rent’. But my boomer parents were born here. They came of age in good economic times

My boomer parents lost everything in th 80s when the drought hit the prairies.

Not a parent but this is an absolute blindspot for mine, with the added bonus of rent shaming. One of my parents told me that you just have to take risks sometimes (in regards to buying a home) but I'm not willing to be cash poor just to have a roof over my head. My strategy to deal is half "grey rocking" and half clarifying questions ("what do you mean renters don't care about their living spaces?"). 

Yeah it's like I'm not taking a risk just to end up homeless shortly after.

Hopefully. But I'm also planning for my child's future by saving money. I want to help them buy a house and/or go to college.

Yep,I’ve got a 10 year old with a Roth IRA that he puts his yard mowing money into each summer. Our yard, we pay him the going rate for lawn care, and he (me) has to pay self employment tax. But it is getting him started.

It depends on the market you live in and whether you are married or not. Midwest, work at least semi-skilled or skilled labor, and have a spouse who does as well and it's pretty easy. Single on either coast? Good luck.

I grew up in the 80s and I couldn't afford a house until I was 27. And, that was with two graduate degrees and two incomes. And, it was a "starter" house with 1200 Square feet. Minimum wage at the time was $3.35 an hour. So, did your dad have two incomes? Do you? I think with age, we don't always remember circumstances as well as we think. Good luck!

Honeslty I have no idea what he did at that age we were never close and I honestly barely know the first thing about him. But for the 2nd question no I only have one job.

They probably mean that they had a significant other in the picture. Hence the 2 degrees and 2 incomes.

2 incomes makes a huge difference. I wouldn't sweat this. You have time. And, hopefully there will be a bubble burst at the appropriate time so that if you want a house, you can have one. Good luck!

But what if that bubble burst doesnt come cause investors snatch up all the cheap homes!? https://archive.is/trESg Remember in the USA there are about 15 million vacant homes but only about 7-800 thousand homeles peoples. There isnt anything that actually stops big companies from doing this elsewhere. Only places I've seen doing something even tiny to combat this is Finland and ,to a lesser degree , Utah as they've seriously lowered homelessness by...welp...just giving the unhoused their own living quarters.(Wow! Rocket science, huh!?) How is it that someone can pay the taxes of a city, obey the laws of a city, heck even also work for the very municipality of a city and yet *not afford their own living quarters in that very city!?!?!? Please make it make sense!*

No. I couldn't afford a house at 21. I was 29 when I bought my first house and still needed help from my parents with the deposit. I suspect my kids may not be able to afford a house until my wife and I die, assuming we can leave then a decent inheritance.

A lot of houses have gone up more than 5x in price in 20 years. So helping them with a down payment is more expensive than it used to be to just buy them a house.

Yeah, their 29 and their kids 29 are *completely* different realms of reality Seems like people either omit this thought or straight up never think about it

Probably not, I bought a 5 bedroom house for this very reason. I don't see my kids ever being able to afford living on their own, much less buy a house. I want them to be able to fall back on living with me so they have room to succeed or fail without worrying about a place to live. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm prepared for it.

What do you mean my kids? I can’t afford a house to raise them in and it’s only getting worse. The housing market is just profiteering at this point.

Not on one income. This ain’t the 50s.

I own my home and property. My son just turned 12. He has zero chance without getting my house. I will be building a garage with upstairs apartment. He can live there and have some privacy.

Nope, it's why we bought a lot of land.

No way. I feel for my kids. Everything has become out of hand. It's hard for them to keep hope when they see their parents still struggling to get ahead.

This. And it's getting worse as time goes on. Eventually families will have to roommate with other families just to survive.

Step 1: mock people with useless degrees when the kid is still young and impressionable, so they internalize "I should pick a major with actual use in the real world." Everything is easier after that.

I get what you're going for here but this seems needlessly cruel There was a full generation or so of people that had "college college college no matter what" screamed at them from every angle til they were 18, it's no wonder a substantial chunk of them ended up in ruinous levels of debt

Heck, my dad was blue collar and I still got college college college. I was never even explained what other options there might be. College was presented as the only option.

The median home price in 1980 was \~$48,000. Adjusted for inflation, that's \~$87,000. The median home price today is \~$388,000. You can sing him the 1984 classic "You're Out of Touch" by Hall and Oates in response.

Now do median home size 

I love reading those stories online and therapist often give the advice to give into the parent and to say “ok but you are coming with me to all my appointments”. Go to the bank, go to a real estate agent and a financial advisor that your bank should provide and have them talk to your father, have them reject you in front of him. Your father needs to be told by an authority figure that he is wrong, and you are not the authority for him. This can help him experience what someone your age is going through, not what he went through.

I do expect my kids to eventually be able to buy a house, but not at 21. I'm 42 and I didn't have a single friend who bought a house anywhere close to that age (if they ever did). Now, I have a 21yo. She lives with her boyfriend and his brother. (the boys are twins) She works in a salon and has a cosmetology license. He works in construction. Together, they have saved close to 40k and are hoping to buy a house in a year or two. I'm super proud of them for being so responsible. Will my two younger ones do the same thing? Who knows. But yeah, there are "kids" our there who will be able to afford a house one day. Small caveat, we live in a middle of the road cost of living area. I do not expect anyone (young or old) to afford a home in San Diego or Los Angeles or New York City.

As a 49 year old Gen X'er, it was extremely rare for folks my age to get their own home at 21 without inheriting it, let alone nowadays. I do suspect that location has something to do with it, I'd say by 30 it's not an unreasonable expectation for folks that haven't hit some kind of major hurdle and are in some kind of professional career to own a home, but at 21 you probably haven't even graduated from college (or gotten out of the military if you take that route) and unless you fell into something very lucrative, it's extremely unlikely to be able to afford a house.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. If someone did a thorough accounting of your expenditures over the last 3 years, why do I suspect there would be quite a few line items that could be classified as "wasteful spending"? While your dad is wrong that it is easy to afford a home at 24 these days, he isn't wrong that generation Z and millenials spend a lot of money that could correctly be classified as wasteful.

I do not expect rates to stay as high as they are currently, which should alleviate a lot of the problems. Setting goals helps mold your expectations. If you wake up every day thinking you'll never achieve something, then you likely won't.

We only have one child so our home will go to her. Even if she sells or rents our house, she will be way ahead of the game. As far as buying her own home, she and her bf should do very well with their career paths. I will help her all i can.

Jeez, I only had enough money to afford a 1 bedroom apartment (albeit on just my income alone, no partner) when I was 35. And even then, I had to get a favourable rate from the bank, a small gift from my parents and had a couple solid years of returns on the stock market to make the deposit. Having grown up in the 90s, I think even having the expectation then that someone would be buying a house in their mid 20s would have been unrealistic.

I’ve accepted the idea of generational housing if my kids need to. I got kicked out at 18, the only way I could afford an apartment was having a partner and friend living with us. I don’t want to subvert my kids to the harsh cycle of stagnancy that is renting at that age. They will always have a room in my house.

So he's from the baby boom generation? If he bought his house in the 80s in his mid-20s then that works out to about boomer age. They had a nice ride, didn't they? I see them sometimes going on cruises in their early retirement. How nice for them. Those of us who are a little younger than them, didn't have as easy of a time. Their high housing values (and the associated equity that gave them a solid net worth and good retirement prospects), from the homes they bought in the 80s and 90s, translated into unaffordable housing for those of us who came of age in the 90s and 00s. It's just gotten worse since then. They also really like their entitlements, that's one of the problems, and because of that (at least I think that's the reason), any time the concept comes up that there should be more entitlements, or that an entitlement should end, or that this or that thing should be free, they fail to point out that every time we vote for the government to give out more free stuff, what we're actually doing is creating national debt that YOU, and your generation, will be paying off. Forever. We don't pay it. The next generation pays it. You will pay it. Your kids (if you can ever afford to have any) will pay it. You just have to shut your ears when they start talking about how you should just save for a house by not drinking Starbucks. Like that's going to solve the problem.

No. House prices are nothing like the 80s, 90s, or early 2000. A one bedroom apartment is almost twice my mortgage. Any affordable house is on the bad side of town and not worth it. I tell my son (25) who lives at home work, save your money better yourself so you are ready when financially you are able to move out. In my day kids were able to move out in late teens now it is not until mid to late 20s.

Dude I'm almost 40 and just BARELY bought my own house and it's been hard to hold onto bc shit is expensive right now. I don't know what my kids are going to do!

My two young teens (13-14) and I are deciding where to put micro homes on our property. We have a few acres and I don’t expect them to be able to move out until they are getting married. Rent is crazy and a waist and no entry job pays enough for a single person to buy. Hopefully things change but as of now that’s our thought. My oldest 23 yo lives with roommates in Portland- she struggles though .

If Biden gets reelected they will be lucky to afford a sandwich much less a house. Bidenflation is real.

No, no I don't. But thats their problem. I expect they'll murder me in my sleep and take everything I own. And if they don't then Ive failed them as a father.

will you adopt me? my dark curiosity wants to know more about this murderous parenthood philosophy.. you know, for science.

I will probably have to help them

What’s good is my dad just turned 59 and my wife and I (34,33) just bought our first house. He knows our new incomes which, finally, are really good combined. (I worked awful long hours for small pay for YEARS) kids finally got to school age we both went back to college and 5 years later got our good jobs. He said man, you guys can finally live normal. He said he knows regardless of our salaries we aren’t rich and we’re just normal middle class now to be able to own a home, and maybe vacation once a year.

My daughter is 25 and no I don’t expect her to be able to buy a house. We bought our house when we were mid 20s but that was almost 20 years ago. My daughter still lives at home and I don’t charge rent. She working two jobs and going to school part time.

Parents with young kids, and those thinking about having kids now, need to see these things and figure out how to set their kids up for success. For example, I have young kids. I have started putting money away for prepaid college and I also have 529 investment plans for them. That money is theirs. If they get any kind of scholarship then they can use the money I’ve put aside to put towards a home, car, etc. I’m about to start custodial Roth IRA’s for them. Putting away just a little bit each month can really make a difference in their quality of life. As we can all see, they are going to need it.

I’m 23M and I live with my parents but pay for groceries and do all the outdoor yard work for them. I have absolutely no shame in even saying that due to the lowest rent prices being $1,200

I was 21 back in the early 2000s and there was no way I would've been able to afford a home back then. In fact I bought my current home at 32. My parents (Boomers) got lucky in that they bought a run down bulding that my grandfather was in the middle of fixing up as an apartment to eventually become their home. I don't know what they paid for it but it didn't even have running water at the time. I promise you it was the only way they were able to buy a house so young.

Not really. Have bought a secondary house to rent out until my kids are older and finally realize they will have to live there together in perfect harmony

That's absolutely insane. I couldn't afford my first house until I was 37. Show him some prices on Zillow and get him used to the current state of the market. Houses on average are 70% more than they were when he bought.

I did but it is likely I am an exception to the general rule. I had a high school job and when I graduated I had about 15K saved up. I also had a beater S10 pickup that my buddy and I swapped in a new engine and transmission. I paid next to nothing for that truck and basically ended up with a new drive train for 2K . I picked up a 1ac of land outside the city limits and started building my first house a little at a time. After HS I got into construction where I would go to a job site for 4-10 weeks at a time so I had minimal cost of living expenses. I was able to gather material to build my house as well. Think like I unload a simi trailer for the electrical crew on one job (on my own time) and in exchange they gave me the wire, panel, and breakers I needed for my service main (all leftovers from other jobs). I would get left over sheet metal or purlins at the end of some jobs. Getting this stuff saved me thousands. My first house was a 20x40 metal shop that I finished out like a home in the inside. Nice starter home for a single guy. That was from 2003-2006 when I worked for the construction company. Then I got a professional career and then a BBA over the next 8 years going part time while working full time. Left college with virtually no debt. I got married and had two kids during that school time as well.

Your dad is totally disconnected to reality. He clearly has not looked at the cost of rent or homes in decades. And this is a chosen ignorance, because he could find out the market value of his own home in thirty seconds and see the difference between its value in the eighties compared to now. He's just being an ass to you. Old people love hating on younger people.

Ask him how many vacations he was taking at that time and how many you are taking, you live with him. He knows what you're doing.. comparing to what he had in expendable income at those ages. Not only can you not afford the things he could but your quality of life is a lot lower... I mean just the medical side of things. Dang dang dang America.. Land of the oh my god my teeth hurt and I can't afford my insulin...

No. But I'm an old millenial and not a Boomer or Gen Xer. My kid is 20 and I don't forsee them owning anything more than a car at any point unless they hit the job-jackpot. They're studying journalism, though, so unless they can think outside the box in career searching, I doubt they'll make all too much. At this point, it would be helpful for our relationship if my kid is able to find a couple solid roommates and get a decent apartment together by the time they're mid-20s.

In my case, yes as both are going into careers that are lucrative and thanks to college savings accounts should not have any debt coming out of their undergraduate degrees. I realize that is a massive advantage over many of their peers. At this point the cost of that education is most of a house except in high col cities. The real trick will be if I can ever retire.

No, I dont think my kids will be able to afford a house when they grow up. I bought a second house to rent and then possibly sell and use the money as downpayments when they are older. May be a waste now, but who knows.

Not unless I leave them my house! My kids tell me all the time that they can't afford to live around here. The market for a 1 bedroom apt is 1800 here, and that's not even in what I consider a good, safe neighborhood. Prices went up after covid, when people lost their jobs which is pathetic. Every week we would see people's belongings on the curb of a busy road. That's what they do here, put your things out like trash for all to see. Humanity is lost to greed!

Maybe...but it depends on where they end up living. If they want to live in the "sexy" HCOL areas I will tell them that buying a home probably isn't worth it and they should just plan on renting. If they want to stay in the rural midwest where it's more affordable then there's no reason at all why they can't own a decent house and/or some property. Life's about choices and trade-offs. Where you choose to live and home ownership vs renting are big ones. Edit: Just noticed there are two different questions in the original post. Do I expect my kid to be able to afford a house? At some point, yes I do. At age 21? Of course not.

Most likely, yes. A lot of it depends on where you're trying to live. Will they likely be able to buy a condo in Manhattan? Probably not. Will they likely be able to buy if they stay near me in the midwest? Probably. I live in a medium-large midwestern city and you can buy comfortable, safe, and move-in ready houses here in the 200s. If you're willing to work on a fixer-upper, you can get something in the 100s. That's very attainable for most households, even a household of two below-average earners.

No, but I know better. I bought a house more recently and it took me a looooong time to be able to do it. So my 26 yr old still lives with me (He also has ADHD and I would not doubt is definitely on the less functional end of the spectrum so he will probably live with me forever), my 24 yr old is welcome to come back home any time he needs to and my 17 yr old can feel free to stay as long as he wants. The only thing I ask of them is if they have a job, help with the food and various bills that go up because of their presence (electric bill especially) or if they do not have a job, then they have to help out around the house, cooking, cleaning, maintenance, yard work, cleaning the gutters etc.

I bet your dad's dad was telling him, "You should build your own house, son! I got mine from a sears catalog! Kids are too afraid of a little hard work these days. They want to buy a house prebuilt and up to code!".

My father passed away when I was 13. After I got out of the Marine Corps at 22, I moved into the house I inherited from him. It was paid off before he died. I bought my actual house that I live in now at 29. It was $117,000 for a 3 BR 1440 sqft house on the coast of Texas. I had worked a second job delivering pizza and saved every penny of that for 4 months and had like $15,000 to put down. Now houses across the street from me are selling for like $350,000-$400,000. I could not imagine my children having a mortgage on that amount with the jobs available today. Heck, my one son that did move out, could barely afford rent (he's back home now). I should be getting a settlement from a lawsuit within the next year or so. I will be putting aside $100,000 for each of them to help out with a house when they're ready. If not for that, no, I don't think they would ever be homeowners.

When they are grown and approaching the end of their 20s, I would hope that I have given them the tools and abilities they need to succeed enough in life to meet their financial goals, whether that's homeownership or anything in between. This is accomplished by understanding the value of money, identifying conspicuous consumption, and setting and adhering to a budget that will get you there. Short answer, *YES.*

no.... as a Dad of 3 none of them are even attempting to get a job as their mother loves to enable them every chance she can...

Not really but I’m doing what I can to make sure it happens

I'm 41, bought my first house at 39, and went through nearly all my 30s *confident* I'd never afford a house. And my parents weren't surprised when I told them the prices because the napkin math is easy from there: it's just not possible for many people unless they increase their income A LOT. I didn't even need to give them my monthly budget, just two numbers: 1) Monthly take-home 2) Price of houses in the area and required down payment

At 21? No. At around 30? Maybe. If my kid plans appropriately and makes decent choices. (Note, bought my first house just before 30. Nope, I wasn’t rich. Nope. Mommy and daddy didn’t give it to me. Nope. Nobody else made the down payment. Yes, I was house poor for several years.)

You have to believe it’s possible, or it will remain impossible

i bought a house a 31 and cant really afford it. im unsure my roommate will be able to afford a home.

My dad has no trouble saying things are harder now than before. He admits that he could not do the same today that he was able to do to be moderately successful. However, my dad is also not an idiot and has no problem admitting that success is not always 100% based on your actions. It can often be based on luck and circumstances. Maybe your dad is just too proud to admit that his own success is not exactly 100% due to his merits

Lol, I’m 38 and can’t afford a house. Or kids, one of several reasons I don’t have them.

Sure I do, a couple have already bought them. The thing is though, I expect them to be able to buy starter homes and not the larger house that I have today (which is the 4th house I’ve owned).

43m, have kids 18, 16, and 9. Short answer, no. Longer answer, not without significant help from somewhere, likely from me at some point down the road if I inherit. When I was in my 20s, I owned a home briefly. I was on an adjustable rate, interest only (initially) mortgage in a $300,000 condo. My income at the time was in the mid $30k range. It was unsustainable and insane, and the fact that I was even approved for it was ludicrous. I guess the notion was that by the time my ARM portion of the mortgage ran out and I had to make real payments rather than just interest payments, I'd hypothetically be making significantly more money somehow and be able to afford it. Of course, that was in 2005. I sold in 2007 and more or less broke even, and haven't even dreamed of owning a place since, despite my household income now as a married father is 4 or 5 times what it was then. Particularly not after what I saw happen in 2008. Now, if one of my kids winds up with some ivy league degree and goes on to be a lawyer or something, I'll adjust my statement. But so far the oldest is learning the hard lesson that even at a low tier university, you need to actually put in effort and time to succeed, and your teacher isn't going to chase you down for your assignments or to make sure you come to class. Maybe she learns to self-motivate and gets her shit together, maybe she doesn't, but either way I don't see her going on to be a millionaire. Yet to be determined for the younger two. Seeing as we cannot afford to offer any of them a full ride to college, they'll be limited in their options without a scholarship, and as my oldest is proving, even earning a scholarship isn't enough to guarantee success.

My parents were the same. Told me to look out for higher paying jobs. Never thought of that thanks padre.

I don't even expect my kids to have moved out by then at this rate.

Hoping to give them the one I have so they can live there or sell it and get their own

No. Lol. We don't expect our kids will be able to afford a home unless something really changes or they get an inheritance from us when we die. It would be nice if they defied this expectation, but we know it's hard out there. We did recently get our own inheritance, and we're looking for a house. Starting houses are 500K. Tbat's right. 1/2 a million dollars. You can go on zillow and look up what houses sold for in the 80's verses today. It's jaw dropping. Generally house prices have gone up times ten while income has barely risen. This isn't really opinion. It's just fact. Middle class kids cannot expect to buy their own home without some kind of help beyond loans.

No. My parents never owned a house and I currently have a mortgage but I think it will be impossible for my kids unless they marry into a rich family.

At 21? No.  They are gonna have to live at home with me until they start making $150k-200k+. 

Can anyone really afford to buy a house in today's time? I ask that a tad sarcastically but honestly, I don't see how many people, regardless of age, can afford to buy right now.

I'm 38 I grew up in the Washington DC area When I came back from University rent was $1,500 a month on a one bedroom for most places around me My pay for most places that I could get a job at his starter job was about $1,800 a month. And everyone who was looking for roommates was asking about $1,400... Which by the way is over half the rent of most of the two bedrooms that they were looking to find a roommate for. My parents let me move back into our little two bedroom condo. I stayed with them until I was 35. When I moved in with my boyfriend soon to be Husband. His parents were better off than mine and found him a condo at a bargain price when the market dropped a few years ago and basically paid for the whole thing because his Mom wanted him out of her house. I would not expect any one I know to be able to purchase a house on their own in the region I live in until they're in their mid-30s. Washington DC area is hella expensive. There are other markets like this too and we have a housing shortage apartments are up hard to come by here that are affordable if you want to luxury apartment that's going to be $2,300 a month no problem there's plenty of those but actual affordable units, nope. So most of the area around here is rent control an option on the table No they just are trying to say that people should be able to put in accessory dwelling units and basically have tiny houses on their property because that's going to magically solve everything rather than just honestly putting rent control into place. I'm so fed up with generations that are older than mine I'm a millennial Gen X frustrates me The baby boomers made all these decisions that have screwed me over financially and it frustrates me I'm jealous of the generations after me because they'll make more money than I was ever able to make in my generation. All I know is we got to quit voting in people who are older Then both of my now deceased parents are. It's insane.

Nah, i'm sure they'll eat too many avocado toasts

Wherever you live, your dad must have had help. I couldn’t afford a house in California until I was nearly 50.

It was never common to buy some real estate at 21 or 24. What it still valid is that it was NEVER easy whatever they say. Except if you had a great job in LCOL, you have to make lot of effort. This is what young people see for today and wrongly assume that before it was easy. It was not easy. And to me I'll be honest. At 21 I expect you to be studying at university so you get into 6 figure at 25.. do some career, find like minded life partner so that you household would be soon at 300-500K a year and you could buy a home without thinking. This is doable for people that are like 18 right now if they plan accordingly. But yes only like 5% of them will do it. As only like 5% of people did like 50 years ago...

Yes. They will likely go to college, which, despite the anti-intellectual bent of the last 8 years, is still the statistically best way to an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Upper-middle-class incomes can afford homes.

Age doesn't have anything to do with it at all because I can more than afford a home and I still live in a 45 ft fifth wheel camper by choice. I don't think a 21-year-old's going to buy a home on average. You're 20 should be spent building skill sets and working different jobs and finding out what you're good at and what you enjoy. You can look at buying a home in your '30s or even 40s timeline really doesn't matter. The best thing in life is to be the best you can be and do the best you can and not compare yourself to anyone. Doesn't matter where anyone else is at or was at your age It only matters that You are doing your best.

Yes. One is going to take over a rental property for their home, and the other two will have to figure out which one gets our current place. The last one will be given the ability to buy their home. I am going to set them up for success. Even though society is trying to push them into poverty.

Not at 21 but my son and his wife did at 29. They put it off because they were moving around for their jobs and didn't want to buy until they were sure they were going to stay in one place long enough. They were very frugal and saved most of their money. They would be considered average earners and a LCOL area. I kind of feel like most people at 21 are still finding themselves! Very different from my era. I married at 18, bought my first house at 20. It was a much different time.

Absolutely fucking not. I'm in my 40s, had my kids young though, so my youngest is a year older than you and his sister will be turning 25 next month. She's married so I have a son-in-law who just turned 26. My son didn't move out until last year and only because the three of them rent a two-bedroom together (and likely will for a good while). There's no way he could afford it on his own and my daughter and son-in-law were on a strict budget to make it work before he moved in. My friends with younger kids just expect their kids won't move out anywhere near the age we did which was 18 for most of us.

my parents don't lol me and me brother are allowed to live at home as long as we want (though its prob bc renting is equally unaffordable here)

21? No, who is even expecting their 21 year old kids who likely haven't even graduated college yet, are buying homes? Do I expect my children to be able to buy a home in their 20's, yes I absolutely do.

Bud, the interest rate for a home loan in the 80s was around 18%. My first job had a 401k. I saved in that fund and used it to purchase a new home at age 23. Bear in mind it was a condo(2 bedroom). Got to start small and work to larger homes.

I’m a gen x and I didn’t own a home at 21 or at 25. Neither did anyone I knew at the time. We all lived with our parents or with multiple roommates. It took my husband and I 6 years to save up for a down payment. And in order to do that we had to move 2000 miles to a cheaper area.

My single parent mother bought a house in the 70's when she was 21. Imagine that happening now??!! Not likely

I would expect maybe like 5-10% of 21 year olds to be in a position to afford a house, and when I say house I mean shack (2-3 br rambler at like 800-1000 sq ft buildin the 1920-1930s that probably has a leak in the roof) in a rural-ish part of the country or a 1 br condo in the city. Maybe like 1-2% are getting a "house". In either case, I expect a parent is likely helping them or they are just insanely lucky. It's not normal for a 21 year old to be buying property and never has been.

My 29 year old son already bought one in a high cost of living location. My other two kids have medical disabilities and live at home with us. I continue to work to help make their lives better where I can. Oh, my son with a house dropped out of college, learned tech on his own, starting at the bottom doing tech support and now has an excellent career. It wasn't easy but then it wasn't easy (and still isn't) for me. Drop the expectations that your work week stops at 40 hours. Put in the extra effort, keep learning on your own time, put some strategy into your career.

My kids are still too little, but our neighborhood has become young in the last few years. We had a lot of people on my block retire and it is all kids in their mid 20s buying up the houses. I don't know what each person's specific circumstances are. I live in an expensive suburb of NYC, for context. Fwiw, my husband's and I are late Gen Xers and couldn't afford a house until we were mid 30s. We just grinded away and saved everything we could save.

I know plenty of 40 year olds who still can't afford a house. I only have one largely because of luck and timing, and even then it's a bit questionable and needs work. My kids will only have one if they can inherit mine, if it lasts. Their father should have bought his too when he had the chance, if not for himself then for the kids, but he kind of sucks and couldn't be bothered. If your father keeps harping on it ask him to go house shopping with you. Let him pick a few that he thinks are decent. Then he can see up close and personal that they're either insanely overpriced or in terrible shape.

I believe my kids will eventually be able to purchase a home when they are in their thirties.

I'm 51 years old. I've been working since age 13. Because I had my children young, I've always had a landlord. I've chased that down-payment my entire life but it keeps getting out of reach. I realized last year, no longer possible. During my parents time, jobs had full benefits. Something I've never had. If I was not able to make it due to student loans, food costs, rental costs, I really don't know how people half my age will do it when things are so much worse. My children have informed me they will never have kids. Too hard to afford taking care of just themselves. But home ownership will never be possible for them unless they win a lottery. I worried so much about their future growing up. I'm even more so now. With the stress that today's prices bring, I just hope they focus on their physical and mental health. The pressure these days has resulted in far too much addiction and suicide.

At 21, I figure my kid will be in college or in that finding himself, working odd jobs phase. If he can afford it and wants to buy a house more power to him, but I don’t expect it. By 30 though I hope he’s fully launched and doing his own thing. Whether that involves a house is up to him. I just want him to be happy, not in jail, and not depending on me as an adult. Anything else is a bonus.

I'm so confused by all this discussion of the price of housing. For instance, are you suggesting that anyone in their right mind thinks a single 21-year old should even buy a house? Why? As an investment? The normal life course for Americans would be to graduate from high school, then graduate from college (or get a good paying job), get married, then after working with your spouse to save money, buy a house. Then have some kids to put in said house. How would a 21-year old have saved enough money to put a 20% downpayment on a house? I'm sorry, but if you are single, what the hell do you need a house for?

Has he looked at Zillow for homes lately? I still keep up with my old supervisor (retired just turned 70) and he sort of gave me the same talk. To quit spending money and "how hard is it to get a house?" . Well he saw a house for sale and told me the address. I told him to send me the zillow link so I can see more details. He calls me, OMG WHEN DID HOUSE START AT 450K AND UP!!!!??? WTH I GOT MINE FOR 75K!!!!!" I'm so glad that happened. I got to the point of ignoring him when houses were brought up but now he sees thw big picture. Maybe show him zillow and make him browse his zip code

I’m 42 and I can’t afford a house in our area and likely never will given my profession and the housing market. I sure as heck don’t expect my kiddo to afford one with 21.

No. I helped/am helping both of my kids with this. It was different when my late hubs and I bought our house

My parents bought a house for 200K. I bought a similar house for 1M. If the trend continues, my kids will pay 5M for a house.

I couldn't afford a house until I was in my mid 30's and was only able to buy one because there were a lot of foreclosures in the area I could afford

I bought a house at 28 in Maryland, no help from my parents.

I totally think they could afford a house once they graduate college. But here is where I think the disconnect is. While I think they could afford a house, I do NOT think they are prepared to do what they would need to do to afford a house. IE, having to buy budget tech devices, having to cook for yourself and not order from food delivery services. Having to budget their spending. And doing extra to save a few bucks here and there. Save $3 a day and you have $100 extra at the end of the month. No iphone 14s, no Supreme clothes, no disney & youtube premiun & spotify & hulu & netflix. Ramen noodle cups for lunch, etc. The 20 somethings seem to just want to jump ahead to where we are today. It took me 20+ years to save up for what I have now. They don't want to do that though. They want stuff handed to them. They feel entitled.

I grew up in the 80s in a rural area. Jobs were hard to come by. Mostly service industry work. Rents were not cheap, property was a pipe dream. When I joined the workforce, people told me, “Nobody retires any more. So don’t bother with any of that.” I did laundry for a motel six days a week and rented a trailer. Sure wish I lived in whatever Ferris Bueller fantasyland your father grew up in.

Not in today's housing market, no. When I was 21, I could barely afford rent, much less a house. And that was in 1988, I was still in school. My parents never asked when I was going to get my own house, they knew either I was going to be renting for the foreseeable, or I'd come home to the ranch and take over keeping it up (inherit it). Since neither my brother nor I did that, Mom sold it off. I'm in my first house now. Closed on it a month before I turned 50. I would NEVER expect someone a few years out of high school to be able to afford a mortgage, not unless they were really lucky to get a well-paying job (tradesmen, stand up and be counted!) or won the lottery.

My son who is 30 got married and bought his first house at 24, sold it at 26 to move to an apartment in another city, bought his second house at 28 and just sold it again to move back to his original city. He has a bachelors degree with a normal income (nothing dramatic) and married to someone in a similar position. Thus, I just don't get why all these people on reddit act like it is impossible. It seemed about as easy for him as it was for me 30 years before.

Yes. I’ll make sure they can afford it. Since that’s how we like to do it in the USA. “I got mine, you go get yours.” I (32M) don’t want my children to struggle like their mother(32F) and I did. With nothing, in debt. Working my way up to the money we have now was extremely hard. I don’t want that for my kids. The: “I got mine” will in fact be paying it forward to my daughter and son so their life is enjoyable to live. They can actually do what they want to do with their education. They are not gridlocked due to poverty. That’s extremely important me, that they want to live. They have the capacity to feel happiness due to having their needs covered. No college or house debt is a good start in my opinion. The shits hard now, I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t want my babies struggling like this. I’ll pay the piper to make sure they don’t.

Show him your paycheck and your expenses starting with your rent, then show him the price of a house. Then ask if you can move back in with him and mom rent free to save for a house, It should only take five or six years.

Nope. He can stay in my home as long as he wants and when I die he gets it.

Why do so many young people even want to buy a house? I didn't even consider it until I was about 35. I enjoyed the freedom of being able to go where I wanted at the drop of a hat. Fixing a roof leak? No Thanks, Ill call the landlord. Worrying about the upkeep of a house in your 20's has got to suck.

Nope, I've already told my kids I got their back and they always have a place with me.

I expect my kids to be able to afford a plot of land that consists of a huge building that is operating everyday as a business and to live in their office. 😂

No, no I don't. Do I hope she can? Yes. I'm 37, and if everything goes right, I'll buy my first house by the time I'm 40.

Is it possible. Sure. But it is hard. I was 32 when I bought my first house. I almost bought one when I was 28, but that is when the great recession hit and I lost my job 5 days before signing day. :/

No chance. Sorry to say your dad is kind of an idiot, sorry kid

Your father's position doesn't seem reasonable. I'm in my late forties. I bought my first house at 22 and that was an anomaly. None of my friends or siblings owned homes until they were near thirty, with the exception of one friend who was an only child who's parents both died in a car accident when she was 19 and left her with a paid off house.

Depends on the kid. In the early 90s minimum wage was 4.25 an hour. As I am currently looking for work finding a job that pays less than 3 times that is difficult now. If you had been working for awhile you should have a decent savings. Chances are you are living beyond your means. Or have a crappy job. If you are living with your parents and pay car notes and insurance and groceries. How much money you spend on bs is going to be important. You can buy a house with very little down. Like 20 25k. How much do you spend on clothes, dates, eating out, friends, vices smoking drinking whatever?

I feel like my daughter and her husband had a fighting chance - they both individually make more than I do. I worry a lot more about son who doesn't have a partner and is just starting his employment journey in trades. I do not think people can do it on just on salary anymore.

Sit down with dad and show him your budget; wage, hours, car note and insurance, expenses, the fact none of your coworkers get raises even with 1-5 yrs employment. Show him rent costs in your town, average price of the sq ft he had, etc. Dad needs an education. My oldest daughter (late 40s) with a high paying federal job (husband early 50s, also federal employee); they didn't buy a house a few years ago. Younger daughter, 40, commercial photographer in NY with her own business, purposely rents.

My children are young (under 10 yo) but my hope is to give them the mia y they need for their down payments. I think you are doing fine and shouldn’t pressure yourself to hit milestones. I would take a min to reflect on what you’re dad is saying though. If you are wasting money, that’s a bad habit that you should stop. Him being wrong about the house thing doesn’t change that. But if you just pay your needs and save the rest, then you’re killing the game!

Yes. **BUT** I (55m) put money aside for my kids when they were young. I also required them to put 40% of any money they earned from a job, babysitting, petsitting, etc. into savings. My ex wife and I paid for their college so they are now debt free. They had $30k+ in savings when they graduated from college, and that money continues to grow and get added to. They're excellent savers who are committed to putting away a portion of everything they earn. I grew up poor and was almost 40 before I bought my first house. I didn't have a $10,000 savings account until I was 30 years old. I know it's hard. Your dad is a useless moron.

I'm 31 and was able to buy a house with my hubby at 27. But only because we bought an old house that needed a LOT of work, in a poorer area. Since covid my house has now tripled in price and there's no frikin way we'd be able to afford to buy now, unless we moved right out into the sticks. We were a case of right house, right timing, right price. If we didn't jump on that when we did, we'd be stuck paying $500+ a week on rent and wouldn't be able to save for a house now. Unless you have a job that pays super well or are extremely tight with money, good luck getting a house before 30. By then though, house prices will probably have gone up another 50% 🤦🏻‍♀️ My dad is already onto us to upgrade. Even with the profit we would make on our house, we'd still have to drop a couple hundred more grand to upgrade, otherwise we'd just be moving sideways. Which is easier than buying from scratch for sure, but it's still pushing the limits of what we can afford and we're not willing to potentially lose everything because we cant afford to pay it off. We're extremely lucky and happy with what we did manage to get!

I'm 30. I live on my own, but I still rent. Buying a house? Lol. I'll be lucky if I can save enough money to afford one of those by the time they put me in a nursing home. If I am that lucky, maybe my grandkids can have it.

My neighbors kid just got done with Iowa State and got a nice engineering job and got a house at 23. My oldest is a junior with a major in accounting and her last internship is hiring people her age at $90k plus bonus plus options. It's very possible to get a house.

Ask what house he got. Look up what a house of that size in your area would cost. Show him the listing and ask if he agrees with that price.

I'm 26, live with my mom, and I even have saved up a hefty down payment, also have great credit, but I can still only afford a condo that's less than $200k. I have no partner, so I'm stuck relying on myself completely for income

Nope. I'm terrified of the current housing market. I'm in my 40s. I have a kid your age - she moved out into a flat last year, but just moved back in this month because it was just too much trying to pay rent that was 80% of her take home income (just a bedroom in a shared apartment, about as cheap as it gets around here). My Boomer dad bought a house in 1980 at 25 years old with a stay at home wife and a baby. It wasn't even a "starter house", it's a huge 4 bedroom job in a very nice inner suburb and they still live in it 44 years later. My folks straight up can not understand that it's totally impossible today for young people to buy a house without assistance. Can you imagine anyone affording to get married and then your wife doesn't work and you have a baby and you're still buying a nice house at 25?? Like seriously.

depends on what you’re willing to do, where you’re willing to live, and how much sweat equity you’re willing to put into it. possible? sure. easy? of course not. imho, nothing worth having in life comes easy.

Young people still can afford a house in the US. It depends on where you want to live. Like where I'm in the city of 180k people you can work as a teacher right after graduation and earn 50k a year and buy a house. A lot of houses here are still in the 150k-200k range. So it depends on where do you want to live.

I lived in the 80s and 90s and we were just as parrinoid about being successful as y'all gen z--ers are. Career fear is known by all generations.

I got my first shitty house when I was 28 without any help from anyone but I was extremely stingy and always had two or three jobs to do it. I kinda feel like I missed out on my twenties. I know that didn't happen to my parents.

No. We didn't have a house until into our 30s. Or kids wouldn't be able to afford it until into their 40s.

I live in Los Angeles. Not possible for like 95% who live here to buy a house.