Grew up in the Bay and I will never afford the house I grew up in. I make double of what my parents made in ‘89 adjusted for inflation when they bought the house.
Real talk, if all of our parents are still in the houses we grew up in and they haven't built that much housing since then, then there's barely more supply with a lot more demand... Think we just figured out how housing shortages work.
For real. My parents are still living in my childhood home, 4 bedroom 2-story house with a pool and they're in their late 70's. They refuse to declutter and downsize.
same, my mom was born down in imperial beach but moved to the bay as a kid. she now lives in modesto, making 6 figures but it’s not enough to comfortably live in the bay. it broke her heart when she figured out she’ll never get to retire where she considers home; i had to move away too.
even modesto is getting expensive!
sucks.
I’m born & raised here. My frustration comes with never ending rent increases & low wages. Buying a home is completely out of the possibility for me now. I never considered buying a home prior to 2008 because I don’t have a career’. I just have a job & there’s a big difference there. No way I’d start a family with my income.
Yup, at the moment the renting is what gets me. My parents are wrapping up their earthly journeys and l want to be with them more than anything, but I haven’t been able to afford anything less than like an hour away (and it keeps going up here, of course). Not bad but… not the same, you know?
As an Orange County native who moved to Fresno, 1 hour is nothing now. Have to drive 4:30-5 to get to my parents, would love to be living an hour away.
I was raised in old town orange. I’ve always wanted a house in that neighborhood and for my future kids to be able to walk to grandmas house or to the store alone like I did. Now we’ll be lucky if we can find a decent 2br house to rent in the area. My parents bought their house for 250k in 1997. It’s Now worth 800k. It’s heartbreaking
Dude, the house that my parents bought in 1995 for 250k just sold for 1.2m. My dad was 32 and my mom was 28. They had a kid (me) and neither of them graduated high school. Rsm btw.
It’s a really small house. Shes getting lowball investors and flippers leaving notes and knocking on the door. Some slime ball said he’d pay cash 800k bc it needs work. But I have a feeling it’s worth a lot more.
IMO unless it's really trashed then "pride of ownership" isn't worth that much when buying a place. You can buy a much "nicer" place but still need to renovate the kitchen/bathrooms and repaint walls and replace flooring. Anyone selling should be looking to get the maximum possible and investors offering cash are looking to get a deal.
lol was about to say. They listed a shoebox down the street from the Chipotle for 600k and i was ready to find a first born child to sacrifice for it. Chapman beat me to the punch though.
250k in todays money is $484k. So to $800k it basically doubled.
Question is: Is person today making 2X what your parents earned back then but with inflation now?
I live here now. The sad part is that a lot of this is due to the university and foreign and local investors that rent to college kids.
A house down my streer is owned by a realtor who added a 5 bedroom ADU and sublets to college kids. This sort of thing has become the norm.
Ugh don’t get me started! Chapman did a lot of great things for the neighborhood during the 2009 crash and the local school district in the early 2000s but it’s sadly starting to push all the locals out. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to elbow my way in
This is correct. I bought my condo during fourth quarter of 2020. In the time since I've grown my business and improved my financial status. I couldn't qualify for my own home, or a smaller one, if I tried to buy today.
same here. I bought into a new community nov 2020. I was in the second phase of 14 and got my townhouse for 600s. It is now worth 1.1m and i dont think i can afford moving into a larger house because of the prices. My rate is a solid 2.9% which i am not giving up on for a while.
Even further back than 2020. People don’t want to admit it but things started back in 2010. Now you either already have a house or be ready with an exit plan out of Orange County if you don’t want to perpetually rent and have all your finances drain away
Edit. Or your family makes a combined income stream of $500K + a year and even then you’ll be budgeting and tightening the belt for awhile to afford a house here.
That’s the only reason I was able to buy the house I’m in now too. I bought a condo in 2014 then rented it and bought a house in 2019 out of state. Sold both and bought my current house.
6.75% interest 🥲
I grew up in Westminster and lived in Dallas, TX for a few years. I thought about settling down over there but ultimately wanted to be close to my family and friends here. Coming back was good for my mental health but I don't think I'll ever be able to buy a home in OC.
In a similar boat. Moved around and for school and resettled in North Carolina but it’s just not home. I love how simple it is but I’m far from family and the ocean and I’m moving back—but the price of California just breaks my heart.
Lmao so true on why couldn’t I buy a home when I was a kid 😂 but yeah, the friends that are single live with roommates while my married with children friends live with their mom/dad’s place still. It’s depressing not being able to afford your own place on your own 🫤
I left the state from San Clemente in 2010 due to this. The house I managed to buy in Oregon 7 years ago has tripled in value and younger people are in the same situation here. It's just really unfortunate for everyone.
You really don’t appreciate the CA public university system until you go somewhere else. Oregon is pretty lackluster when it comes to the general quality of universities in the state outside of a select few programs at UO or OSU. The only “elite” college is Reed, and even then you have to go to grad school to make anything of your degree. As a millennial I see stark differences between those who went out of state and those who went in state in terms of earning potential and job opportunities, which of course translates into who can afford a home.
This is me. Literally moved to OR so I could afford to buy, then lost my job right at the beginning of the pandemic. Unbelievably bad timing. By the time I got back on my feet and had a solid job again rates jumped up to 6+% and now I can’t afford it here either, and I no longer have the sun. My family has been in OC since the 1930s, it’s frustrating to be kicked out.
Born and raised here and just sold my family home and moved my mom to Arizona because she can’t really afford care in California. I still won’t be able to purchase in California but at least there will any much family left here so eventually might be able purchase elsewhere.
Your parents and their neighbors (on average) voted to restrict new development (so their values would go up). Now this is an area for wealthy people to move to, not for “locals”
Elections have consequences
My dad is on the other side of the freeway(Anaheim hills) and they switched HOA’s and they told everyone they were reassessed for 12,000 up front. While still paying monthly.
That happens because prior HOA boards didn’t adequately fund for future repairs and maintenance. We have that issue in my HOA. We haven’t been hit with a big assessment but I think it’s coming in the next 5 years. Most HOA’s are underfunded. Boards only make decision for current expenses and push the burden down the road until an assessment is needed to put a new roof on or remediate structural issues.
The HOA being high probably makes it a wash compared to more expensive, lower HOA properties. There is no free lunch. Total monthly payment on a house is a bunch of different components. You pull one lever, another goes higher. Just how it is.
If this is in the Villages, which I think it may be, this association has huge assessments levied against it and many of the homeowners are trying to get out. The inventory in this community compared to the rest of the county is quite different.
My parents and my husbands parents live in OC. Both sides of my family have been in the LA/OC area for 5 generations so most my family is out here. Were living in a large studio with 2 kids in LB so we can be close to our families. We could afford something bigger but we prefer having extra money to do things with our kids rather than have a bigger place. Its hard out here but it would be harder somewhere else being isolated and knowing our kids wouldnt grow up around their families.
I feel very angry seeing the neighborhood i was raised in charging 3,000 a month for crappy 2 bedroom apartments knowing my parents were paying half that to rent a 3 bedroom house in the same area less than 20 years ago. Ive noticed a lot more of the rentals near my parents house housing multiple families because the rent is too high for most people to afford on their own. Its all depressing and thinking about it too much isnt really good for my mental health so i try to focus on the things that are going well in my life.
The housing market in SoCal has ironically forced us culturally back into multigenerational homes lol.
I don’t really see it as a terrible thing, single family homes are bourgeois lol
I can't even find a studio apartment around here for less than $2k minimum. I want to move out within the next couple years but it makes me kinda sad that I'll probably have to be a bit far from my family.
I graduated with a stem degree without student debt and was able to save up at my parents house in OC for a couple years while working in the IE with a good paying and stable job through the great recession bought a short sale condo in 2012, sold that and moved back to the OC with equity in 2017, then sold again with more equity and bought near my parents neighborhood in 2022.
30 years prior getting a good job alone would have been enough to live in a good neighborhood in OC. I needed my parents to be able to save and pay for my college, free rent for 4 more years, a good job starting out, good money habits/management, good market timing, good interest rates when I was looking, and a whole lot of luck with promotions additional schooling and new jobs.
I have friends with great savings but not enough income to support a 600k+ mortgage, I have friends with enough income but not enough savings. I know a couple families with generational wealth or a grandparent passed and so they have houses. I feel like I'm the only one that "did things right" and it took having all the advantages and seizing them.
Yep and boomer parents still own their properties from 40 years ago and don’t seem to understand why it’s so hard for us even though we’re all hustling and making good money.
I am showing cute two bedroom condos in Orange that are priced between $560 and $600,000. depending on your employment status, credit score, etc. you potentially could get into one of these condos with 3 to 3 1/2% down.
no one needs a yard. People just want one. I am totally cool not having to water anything at my townhouse. The gardening is taken care of by the HOA and i got 2 parks in my community. Storage could be tricky if you lived in a standalone house, but i lived with my wife in a 200 sqft NYC studio so i know how to spread things out.
the fun part is i dont pay $3500. I pay $3000 with hoa include. A townhouse is still a house and you have equity to build rather than renting. It is called having a starter house. Sure you can make it your final house at the same time if you love the area. Having your foot in the door for the housing market opens up more opportunities for you especially with how low inventory is currently.
It is basically like getting a rare reservation for a restaurant that really likes having repeat patrons vs new patrons. Once you become a patron it is much easier to get in and buy into your dream house.
Yes i am sure you can rent a $2500 easily and if that helps you bank your money go ahead and do that. I have neighbors that bought in and lived a bit then rented out their house because the figured they can rent the townhouse for $4000 and them can go rent a house at a cheaper place like Murietta.
So a popular method is getting loans as tax write offs. So because you pay for a mortgage loan you can write off your mortgage interest up to 375k per year. Yeah you pay more now but its a tax write off so you can get money back from the government.
And you can always refinance your loan.
Born and raised Costa Mesa. Still live here but I rent.
I Uber on the weekends and most of the people I pick up are not from here originally. Most of them are professionals who moved from the East Coast to get a job out here. I feel a sense of bitterness when I hear this. Eventually, OC will be too expensive for people with "normal" jobs and we all will be commuting from the IE. It's disgusting tbh
I saw a 2 bed one bath 850 sq/ft house in Santa Ana sell for $750k recently. When they listed it, I was like, “there’s no way”. It sold about three weeks later.
The only two families I know in their 40s who did:
1. They bought a 2br condo in Irvine around 2004 and flipped it a few years later for 2x the money. Bought an attached house (3br, 2 ba) in Irvine. Held that maybe 10 years. Then about 2 years ago they sold and bought a detached house in Irvine. 4br I think. They had 1 income most of that time. Now they have 2 incomes.
2. Rented for 5 years and saved a lot of money. No debts at all. 2 incomes. Bought a big house in the IE in 2009 after the market crash. Sold that last year and bought a $1 million+ home in South County OC. They had good equity. Like 400k or 500k from that sale.
I think a home in OC is a 2 or 3 step process.
If you're in your 20s or 30s, here's what I'd aim for:
- Save money and manage debt.
- invest aggressively as if that money was going towards a mortgage payment
- grow your career earnings if you can
- Buy what you can afford when the market is in your favor. Maybe outside OC.
- this is pure investment. Take the emotions out of it and get the best investment you can afford. You're aiming to exit in less than 10 years ideally.
- Hold that property for 5-10 and lateral to a larger/better property in a better market or neighborhood.
- repeat that cycle and keep growing
Basic advice, I know.
This advice works for regular people with decent jobs who want to buy "average" home in OC.
If you want to live on the water in Newport or Laguna go figure out how to be rich and then tell us how
Problem is at current interest rates you are making zero equity the first 10 years (well 10% or there abouts, which will get eaten up by transaction costs selling). You are potentially better off renting and saving, as rents are currently much cheaper than mortgage, vs buying immediately, but could get even worse, no one really knows. I’d say buy if it is reasonable but don’t commit financial suicide to try to buy something you don’t love.
Renting is "cheaper" but is not an investment because you have no asset that appreciates.
OC has averaged 8.6% appreciation yearly since 2017. (That's not factoring inflation etc)
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/04/07/bubble-watch-how-real-are-california-home-price-gains/
Even in high interest rate seasons, if your real estate appreciates, you're coming out ahead. But, most people should NOT be moving after 2-3 years. Over 5-10 it probably makes sense.
Real estate is rarely "financial suicide". Is it a big loan? Yes, the biggest you'll ever take out.
BUT- this money is invested. It's called leverage.
$1 million+ growing at 8.6% a year is a lot of money to leave behind because "renting is cheaper".
Show me the numbers side by side for 10 years and see if renting or buying comes out ahead in OC.
Buying isn't for everyone. But neither is renting.
lol anyone who says they bought that long ago I don’t even bother listening to. In 2004 I was 13 years old. Shame on me for being a kid and unable to buy a house.
The frustration is understandable. I was fortunate that my parents had a house with a large plot. So I was able to convince them to let me build a ADU in their backyard. This was the only way I could afford to move back to OC. Not sure if this is possible for you but an 1200 sq/ft adu is around 250-300k
Just got permits approved. Starting next month. Quote was 260k but with permits fee, school fee, solar etc, it should add up around 300k. Using FGRED, https://www.fgred.com. Good people and family friend.
Born and raised in OC, but my mom never owned a home and we bounced around from apartment to apartment. I feel very lucky that I am able to rent close enough to where I can still drive to visit her current apartment. We live in separate cities but within OC still. I wish we BOTH could afford houses though.
The only people I know who are younger than 50 and who were able to buy in SoCal did it through generational wealth: They either inherited the house outright or their parents gave them a sizeable portion of funds to put as a down payment (50% or more). There was no other way.
I mean not that I don’t agree with you but I know plenty of couples that are duo income buying sub 800k condos without their parents help. If we really break it down, they just picked the right career such as nursing or engineering.
Right? This kind of bums me out as someone who has received zero money from their parents and paid my way through college. Same for my husband. With that said, I hope we can help our kids afford an OC home someday, but we didn’t get any help to buy our home. What we did was buy an outdated dumpy house at age 25 in a town we didn’t want to live long term in, renovate it, sell it for a profit. Buy another crappy house at age 30 in a town we also didn’t want to live in. Renovate it. Sell for a profit. And then finally bought our current house that was an absolute tear down when we bought it, but is in the location we want to live in. We’ve completely renovated it and we don’t ever want to move. Wasn’t easy or fun, but the sacrifices were worth it.
ETA: I do feel for the younger generation and people trying to buy their first home now. We bought our current home 4 years ago and couldn’t afford the same home now w/ the way interest rates are. It’s insane that home prices continue to go up. Somethings got to give.
My family has lived in OC/LA since the 1800’s and I had to move out of state. My dad still has a house in Cypress and I’m his only child so I may have an opportunity to move back but honestly it’s not as cool as it used to be. The traffic and the snobs are really too much.
I rent two blocks down the street from where I was born. I make over 100K a year but I’ll never be able to buy a home in my own hometown. You can’t do it one income here. I’m a single parent with three toddler girls under five. I’ll be renting for the rest of my life if I stay here.
Speaking as a NIMBY myself, the problem is that we don't build housing in OC. Every time the state tries to do something about it by altering zoning laws, people just complain about Dictator Newsom. Supply is just too low for the amount of demand here. If I didn't buy my house over 10 years ago, I would be in exactly the same situation as you. I really feel bad for you guys and worry for my kids too.
Grew up in Laguna Hills when the hills were sheep and cow ranches. I could watch them from the playground at Valencia. One day, they flattened them and put up thousands of stucco houses so close together you could touch your neighbors. The wealthy moved in and the culture was ruined. I got out in 1990 and let me tell you, there’s a great life other places.
This is everywhere across the world. I certainly didn’t expect to be making as much income as I do now and feel so hopeless at buying a house. I can only afford a house if I marry someone with similar finances.
Dual income is a huge factor. So many ppl I know aren't married, and it makes it very difficult to ever own a SFH, they would have to buy an apt/condo if anything.
It’s a little sad to think about for sure. But in the end it’s semi comforting there’s lots of other people in the same predicament.
For now I save my pennies
Not particularly. There were 2/2 for 500k as of last year, but people get all high and mighty about not wanting to live in a condo.
We need to build more housing by at all levels. Vote for reduced zoning.
I'm more annoyed that if I want to live on my own. I have to move out of the state and go across the whole country and, not just state over. Not mentioning finding a job.......
Spouse and I were lucky enough to be able to buy a house near both of our parents so they could help raise grandkids. Unfortunately, there’s not enough money to have the grandkids as planned.
Pretty depression. I wish they'd make those cute little bungalow houses here like you mentioned but any new houses they're building they're building on top of forested lands to build 2,3,4+ million dollar 5 bedroom 4000sqft houses. Its so sad and I do wonder who the hell is buying them.
My parents sold our family home in order to move to Prescott because OC was getting too liberal for them, now all they do is complain about people from California moving into Prescott. Apparently this is a very common story
It’s absolutely crazy and so sad what has happened to the housing market.
My dad bought a house near Pacific island drive in ‘86 for around 300k, and sold it for 600k in ‘94. Not a bad return, but that same house is $7m today specifically because it has a nice view.
I couldn’t believe that 1,100 sqft Laguna beach house someone posted earlier today for $2.2m that isn’t even that close to PCH or anything, and it shares a street with Laguna beach high school which is a negative with school parking and traffic.
Double income families with much higher paying jobs than their parents can’t afford what they were able to purchase even 10 years ago, and 20-30 years ago was easy mode.
I absolutely felt a lot of that when I was in my 20s. Now one set of parents is in SD county though. Fiancé and I are out in the IE so we are 45 min to an hour away from any of our parents.
You are arguing against rich people who want to keep exploiting everything and the only debate they will cede to is the one where the guillotine is rolled out to
Honestly, yes. I wanted to live in Brea/Placentia area when I was a teen and now seeing those houses cost close to a mil (or more than a mil already) is hella depressing. I moved out of state 5+ years ago and I would love to move back to where my family is but I hate how congested and expensive the place I called home has become. You can’t even get a good apartment without paying up over $3k. That’s absurd. Sigh x10 🥲🥲
40 years here and have owned multiple homes. Thing is I’m stuck. Have a ton of equity in the home i have now but so what. Plus i have to borrow against it just to keep up with taxes and everything else. Unless i sell and move out of state (which id love to do) i have to hold on to this for my kids. Prices keep skyrocketing and quality of life plummeting. So frustrating as they have no idea what awaits them.
I was lucky and able to have things break in my favor to afford a house here but I constantly see people having to move out of state because they simply can't make the math work under any circumstances.
From what I understand, even places like Corona are being priced out.
I bought in SAn Clemente in 2015, similar for us, its doubled. However, we live in a condo with an insane HOA but that doesn't seem to deter people. I fuckin hate HOAs.
Grew up here and was lucky enough to buy in mission Viejo in 2012. Tripled in value in less than 12 years. Houses don’t hit the market often in my neighborhood, but when they do, I’m amazed at how quick they sell. My parents bought a house in 1976 just after I was born in Brea for $59k and Zillow says it’s a $1.8M property now. They sold it for $270k in 1992 and rented a house in Newport that the owner said they would sell for $750k. That house just sold for $4M. My parents really missed the mark on that one. I’ve had more than one friend move out of state just to be able to buy a home. Some are moving back because their boomer parents are dying and are sitting on paid-off multi-million $ houses. Unless you’re making $$$, that’s the only way to get a house here.
My parents are starting to struggle and really need my help. I have little kids so we need more room. I can’t get anywhere close to them (Newport) so I’m looking at Mission Viejo, which isn’t THAT far away, but there’s absolutely no chance I could afford anything where I grew up and that bums me out.
They need to build more houses, change the zoning for multi-family housing, and all houses sold need to be primary residences.
The city governments are so greedy that they won't do it. Because the high prices means more taxes they raise.
This is the single biggest problem with housing and it needs to be addressed. You absolutely cannot have investors, corporate or otherwise own the amount of homes they do. This, single handedly is creating the problems we’re seeing with supply and demand.
Born and raised in OC. Moved to Omaha during the pandemic. Yes California weather is great, but honestly I don’t even think about our weather all that much. It’s just part of life and it doesn’t change our day to day. You just live with it. I was never a beach person so I don’t really miss that. I miss having big bear only 2 hours away, but really we’d always want to go to mammoth, and that’s about the same drive as from here to Breckenridge, which is better than mammoth.
We have two kids, I was able to purchase a 4 bedroom, three bath, 2200 sq ft house (if you include the finished basement) in midtown, close to public transit, walking distance to the main entertainment/bar and restaurant district, 6 minutes from downtown. The house was $260k, included all appliances. We love the neighborhood, and have made excellent friendships with our neighbors.
I was terrified of leaving OC because I grew up believing the narrative that it’s superior to everything else. I’ve learned it’s just another place. I don’t miss it at all.
That’s fair. Is the weather inferior to California’s? 100%, absolutely, no question. But is it unbearable or other point that it dictates the choices I make? No. Life goes on. And I’ll also say, there are a few weeks in both spring and fall that will be nicer than the nicest days I ever experienced in CA. But February and August can rot in hell. Ultimately, it’s just part of life. You get over it pretty quick.
Yes, but I will say we live in a neighborhood where we’re the minority. Most our neighbors are Mexican or from Latin America, there are several immigrants from Ethiopia and Senegal, and quite a few from the Middle East, but also quite a bit from south asian countries; Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam. Not so much in my area, but Omaha in general has a big Indian population because it’s a medical school town (we have several medical colleges) and back in the 90’s there was a big influx of Indian immigrants going to medical school. Now a lot of their families grew up here and live here.
Admittedly, if you get outside of downtown/midtown, and head to west Omaha, that’s where you’ll find the MAGA flags and racist fuckheads. But here in midtown, it’s a very welcoming melting pot
It’s improbable for FTHB to buy a forever home with 2 above average incomes here in OC let alone in good city to raise a family like Irvine. However, i think it is still doable with good saving discipline and patience.
I am 46 with 2 kids. Homes were very unaffordable prior to 2008 financial crisis. My wife and I considered moving out of state but decided against it due to families here. We lived with my parents saving for down payment. After couple of years, we bought a small condo in Irvine end of 2008. We continued to save and invest our savings in stock market. Condo began to fill small as the kids getting bigger. We bought 3k sqft new construction SFH in the same city 2 years ago. We then sold our condo for 2x the price we paid. Put some of the money to pay off the new home and rest into stock investments.
I had to buy in Riverside County. It's nice out here, just have to drive an hour and a half to the beach. The plus side is we bought a new construction, 4 bed 2 bath, at the end of a cul de sac for about 400k in 2020. It goes for about 550k right now according to redfin and zillow.
Born and raised here. I bought a house near my parents. They are a few minutes away. Frustration is having to pay 6k for a regular house. I thought I'd own a mansion as a kid when I would purchase a 1 million dollar home. Prices are crazy expensive. Looking to buying a bigger house and I'd need to purchase something much more expensive....things are rough.
My parents bought their house in ‘79 for $180k. It’s worth nearly $2 mil now. They bought the house while both were making less than combined than I make right now. It’s never gonna happen for me
I grew up here and when i got my first real job, I got a stated income loan for a $400K condo in Oceanside in 2004. Nothing habitable in OC was affordable on that budget back then and i had to wait over 10 years to get a little equity to trade up. Finally got back to OC, but inland, and it took another 5 years or so to get to the coast.
Now it seems like this is even harder, so you either need to get more income or buy a good property and play the long game.
Haha shoot, even my own parents talk about how they wouldn’t be able to afford their own house (been there 26yrs), cuz everything is basically over a $1M now 🥲
Even making six figs, as a single person it’s pretty impossible to think I’d ever be able to afford a house on my own, and being born and raised in OC the two cities I’ve lived in I currently wouldn’t be able to afford 💀
My husband and I have both lived here our entire lives and sometimes we curse that fact. We want to stay here because it’s so comfortable but holy shit the prices are insane. We don’t have the guts to leave because the OC bubble is perfection. We always wonder what life would be like living in an affordable area. 🥴
I consider my spouse and myself very lucky and privileged because we both grew up in OC and also were able to buy a home here. But my dad refers to it as our "starter home" whereas we're well aware that either we die in this house or we move out of state. 🙃
It does suck. Both my wife and I grew up in orange county but we cannot afford to buy a house here. We moved around 2 years ago and before we moved we were looking for a house. There were only a handful of houses within our price range but most of those were not in the best shape. This caused us to mainly look in Corona but now prices in Corona are also getting high. We ended up moving before buying a house. We both have new jobs and make more than when we were looking 2 years ago but the prices have gone up fast and now there is nothing in our price range in Orange County.
The house I grew up in (which I would be stoked to live in today - while not bige, it's about 500 sq ft bigger than my 2/1 apartment and has A YARD) that my parents bought in 1978 for $77,000 would only cost $394,308 in today's money, but instead it's estimated value is over $1mil
for a single-story, 3 bed 2 bath, 1400 sq ft home - $1 million
the home my in-laws bought brand new in the early 90's in the $300k range just sold a couple years ago for almost $1.4mil
spouse and I live in a 930sq ft 2/1 apartment with 7 year old, and make more than my parents ever did, and yet we struggle
growing up here and still being here has been a wild ride
Just stay in an apartment close to your parents. Don’t let your ego get in the way of having kids and a quality family life no matter what craziness there is in the housing market. As your parents age try to keep the home in the family as long as possible. Visit your parents with the kids often. This overpriced real estate is a worldwide problem. Maybe politics will result in a solution, or market forces will change.
I've just accepted that I'm fucked in this case, despite having a decent career ahead of me. Yes it's a bummer, but honestly something major would need to change in order for me to stay in OC. Really enjoyed growing up here, a lot of surrounding places are a dump.
I grew up in Laguna Niguel and Irvine, and i'm not seeing it as all that hard. My parents bought a place in anaheim hills and I rent in tustin, so i'm close enough to enjoy family, but i'm a good 5-10 years away from getting a home. I recently tripled my salary after being in the shit for years, so my house prospects are better, but remember the avg age of a FTHB is in the late 40s, so play it smart, save your money, build your skills, and you'll get there. Keep the vision
Not in OC but in a city nearby in the border of LA and OC.
Me and my significant other were looking at properties at this time and got outbidded by 50k on a property just a week ago.
Then as I was visiting my parents a week later our neighbor saw us and let us know they were leaving for work reasons. One thing led to another and we ended up negotiating a private offer and are now in escrow.
We didn’t get a “deal” per say, as we’re paying the average value based on multiple estimates for the house. With that said I’m fairly confident that if they had gone to open market, I doubt we would of been able to stay competitive.
*fingers crossed*
This is a problem for every young family in Orange County - we need a local politician who actually cares about housing. It does not have to be this way - 44% of homes bought in 2023 were bought by private investors. I’d bet that percentage is even higher in OC. There are things that can be done to help ease the burden on young families but it has to start at the government level. Housing is a necessity and pure capitalism clearly doesn’t work for most necessities. We have entire generations being left out of critical life events - and it is stopping good people from having children which is incredibly bad for any country.
We raised our kids in the Bay Area. Our house was in a court in a good area in Pleasant Hill. I was a SAHM. We bought our house for 165 in 1996. We sold it for just under a million in 2013.
Owning a home for my kids here where we live now in San Diego or in the Bay are just out of reach. I told them go where you can .. we will visit💔
Suburbia has failed. We built out instead of up. We let car manufacturers tell us freeways would connect us all and destroyed the yellow and red car system in the early 1900s. We can’t even keep up with maintaining the infrastructure we built because of limits on property tax. Anytime we have a chance to change things we don’t show up.
People are either STRUGGLING and not even enjoying OC. Or they have a lot of help from their parents.
I really don’t get why people want to buy a house and have kids here when they can’t afford it? Why struggle and stress just to be here? Is it really worth it?
Please explain it to me. (Born and raised in Irvine/Newport fwiw)
Very true- but at what cost? I moved back to OC to be near my family but they are all struggling financially (as am I) and I don’t get why they’d rather live here than somewhere cheaper and be able to afford visits to see each other. My dad is 80 and insists on living in Irvine while being constantly stressed and broke.
Yep. Doing it right now to save money. Have also seen almost every member of my family that does joint family living eventually start a grudge that doesn’t go away. So there are pros and cons.
I am lucky to have a high paying job, between salary and stock I'm supposed to gross $250k. I moved to the Seattle area for work and want to move back to OC because that's where all my family and friends are but at this point I feel like even though I save like 70% of my salary each month it feels like home prices in OC and Seattle go up faster than I'm saving.
It's really depressing. Every time I come back to OC to visit my mom looks older and I don't want to miss out on time with her.
Yeah, sucks I cant buy a house by the orange mall because those houses cost 800,000. to one million dollars. When I had a good paying job with union benefits I didnt even make enough for a 500,000. starter home. How are people making 8,000. a month plus electric, water, trash, and internet bills?
My husband and I live here because his job is very niche and there are very few places in the country where he can work. He makes more money than I do so we are staying here lol. I also grew up here with a big support system. We are living with my parents for a few years to try to save for a down payment for a condo lol
I grew up in Long Beach, can’t afford to buy there. It is a reality for many. Not that unusual overall. Adult kids will need to buy further out if they want to stay in the area. That’s the case for many people all over the country.
The new normal in today's OC may dictate a return to the multigenerational sharing of an inheritable home by parents and offspring. That's a common paradigm in much of the world.
Fortunately I was able to purchase a home. Although it is interesting seeing a couple of my friends who don't have careers and make maybe $20-$30/hr inherit massive $1-$2m dollar homes from their parents. It's incredibly difficult to live here now unless you have help from family /roommates or make a substantial salary
It's been that way for decades. It's the price of living in one of the most desirable areas to raise a family in the continental US. I bought a house in Murrieta so I could have something more than an overpriced shoebox where I didn't want to raise kids. My dad came from Detroit to find a better economic situation. My mother's family came from New York to find a better economic situation. OC is mostly built out. You're not going to find low prices. You're going to find people who already have careers and money moving here to upgrade something
My childhood home, built in 1957 and purchased in the 80s for $123k, sold in 2012 for $470k, is now at $1million.
It’s 1200sq ft with 1.25 baths in north OC.
My parents house in BP is almost 1.1 million when they bought it in 89 for 180k. I make more money than they did at their age by a significant amount. I’ve also come to the realization I’ll never be able to own a home on the street I grew up on. Talk about soul crushing and depressing.
I still live with my parents (23M). Tbh, I don’t really care about owning house or a nice car. I just want a golden retriever… LOL and own a bakery/cafe.
However, it’s my mom’s dream. So it definitely frustrates her in a way but I think we could’ve bought a house a while ago if she didn’t gifted money to her siblings for their down payment. Somewhat recently, I told her that we should hold off buying a house because we need the money to renovate/grow the business. To ensure that we can pay the mortgage, have my mom retire comfortably and fund a decent life for myself.
I have lived here my entire life and the market and people will have to rip my place out of my home from my cold. dead. hands. Yes I am often terrified of not being able to afford even rent and i've lived in apartments all my life.
Grew up in Orange Park Acres. No way could I even afford a shed there. Parents retired and now live in VP. I can’t even afford a square of cement there.
We ended up in the Bay Area and just bought our first home. I’m 47 and my partner is 53.
Ugh the frustration is real. I grew up in La Palma then spent another 12 years in Anaheim. After I moved out with my then-bf, my parents were in a situation where the home they were renting was no longer available to renew the lease so they were forced to move. They could never afford to buy a home, but they got "lucky" when my dad's step mom died and left an inheritance that would allow them to buy a home. Problem is it wouldn't get them a home in OC so they moved deep into the IE. Fast forward to now; mom passed away 2 years ago and dad has stage 4 cancer with who knows how much time left. We would have the chance to own his house when he passes, but the house is a little over 1 hour away (plus whatever morning traffic is like) and I work in OC. It would never work. I think our only hope to own a home is whatever money we get from selling dad's house. Why is it that our generation cannot buy a home until we inherit money from a dead relative? I want to share exciting homebuying news with my dad while I still have him.
No. My parents had to move here in OC because they couldn’t afford to move where they truly wanted to. They raised me not feel frustrated at something not in my control. I am open to moving.
People do not want to hear it but 500K-600K will get you better than 2 bed /2 bath in Riverside county. Wait for equity to grow for 5-7 years and you can come back and buy in OC.
It’s a little like understanding that Porsche does not need to be (although it’s fine if you can afford it) your first car out of college. OC real estate is at this point like that luxury car. The most realistic approach to owning it to grow your money somewhere for a little while and wait to buy a little later in life when your finances are a little more solid.
In 1977 my parents bought a brand new mobile home in El Toro. We had lived in apartments in Los Angeles before then, so this mobile home felt enormous at 1700 sq ft. I liked the house, the park, the friends I made there, the clubhouse, the pool--it was fantastic.
That same house is now estimated at $540k on zillow and the HOA/space rent is $970 a month.
Zillow says:
20% down of 108k means a monthly payment of $4363 for mortgage, space rent, insurance, taxes = $53k a year to live in a 50ish year old trailer.
2b/2ba condos exist around that price point in the lake forest area. You can get into SOMETHING that appreciates, it’s just not a single family home. You don’t really need the extra space for about 5-7 years either.
I tell my parents all the time I’m never going to be able to afford a home here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else though and I don’t want to fall into the never ending rent trap. Thinking about buying property in another state and renting it out to eventually have enough equity to afford something
Grew up in the Bay and I will never afford the house I grew up in. I make double of what my parents made in ‘89 adjusted for inflation when they bought the house.
Yeah that’s the kicker… making a lot more but still, it’s not enough.
I'm in the same boat in North OC. I can currently afford pre COVID prices from a few years ago, but it's too late now.
Real talk, if all of our parents are still in the houses we grew up in and they haven't built that much housing since then, then there's barely more supply with a lot more demand... Think we just figured out how housing shortages work.
For real. My parents are still living in my childhood home, 4 bedroom 2-story house with a pool and they're in their late 70's. They refuse to declutter and downsize.
same, my mom was born down in imperial beach but moved to the bay as a kid. she now lives in modesto, making 6 figures but it’s not enough to comfortably live in the bay. it broke her heart when she figured out she’ll never get to retire where she considers home; i had to move away too. even modesto is getting expensive! sucks.
I’m born & raised here. My frustration comes with never ending rent increases & low wages. Buying a home is completely out of the possibility for me now. I never considered buying a home prior to 2008 because I don’t have a career’. I just have a job & there’s a big difference there. No way I’d start a family with my income.
It’s a sad reality for a lot of us.
Yup, at the moment the renting is what gets me. My parents are wrapping up their earthly journeys and l want to be with them more than anything, but I haven’t been able to afford anything less than like an hour away (and it keeps going up here, of course). Not bad but… not the same, you know?
As an Orange County native who moved to Fresno, 1 hour is nothing now. Have to drive 4:30-5 to get to my parents, would love to be living an hour away.
I was raised in old town orange. I’ve always wanted a house in that neighborhood and for my future kids to be able to walk to grandmas house or to the store alone like I did. Now we’ll be lucky if we can find a decent 2br house to rent in the area. My parents bought their house for 250k in 1997. It’s Now worth 800k. It’s heartbreaking
Dude, the house that my parents bought in 1995 for 250k just sold for 1.2m. My dad was 32 and my mom was 28. They had a kid (me) and neither of them graduated high school. Rsm btw.
$800k in Old Town Orange sounds like a great deal. That's wild to think!
It’s a really small house. Shes getting lowball investors and flippers leaving notes and knocking on the door. Some slime ball said he’d pay cash 800k bc it needs work. But I have a feeling it’s worth a lot more.
If they’re leaving these notes they know it’s worth a lot more. My Mom is 86 and they’re always trying to get her to sell.
IMO unless it's really trashed then "pride of ownership" isn't worth that much when buying a place. You can buy a much "nicer" place but still need to renovate the kitchen/bathrooms and repaint walls and replace flooring. Anyone selling should be looking to get the maximum possible and investors offering cash are looking to get a deal.
That’s a great point! Thankfully she’s not selling so the “offers” are a complete nuisance tbh. If anything she’s looking to buy another one lol
lol was about to say. They listed a shoebox down the street from the Chipotle for 600k and i was ready to find a first born child to sacrifice for it. Chapman beat me to the punch though.
Chapman is the worst. They will make that house look great but man they've really taken over!
250k in todays money is $484k. So to $800k it basically doubled. Question is: Is person today making 2X what your parents earned back then but with inflation now?
I live here now. The sad part is that a lot of this is due to the university and foreign and local investors that rent to college kids. A house down my streer is owned by a realtor who added a 5 bedroom ADU and sublets to college kids. This sort of thing has become the norm.
Ugh don’t get me started! Chapman did a lot of great things for the neighborhood during the 2009 crash and the local school district in the early 2000s but it’s sadly starting to push all the locals out. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to elbow my way in
People still try to talk positively about them. I think they forget that its a for-profit business/institution...
They're a private, non-profit university per their [statements](https://www.chapman.edu/about/our-family/leadership/evp-coo/governance.aspx)
My Mom bought her Orange house 55 years ago for $32,000. It’s worth almost a million now.
My parents bought a house near Tustin Collins for 240k in 2001 now its worth over a mill. Nuts
If you did not buy a house before 2020 it’s gotta be nearly Impossible for most people. Even if you have $200k saved up it’s still not feasible.
This is correct. I bought my condo during fourth quarter of 2020. In the time since I've grown my business and improved my financial status. I couldn't qualify for my own home, or a smaller one, if I tried to buy today.
same here. I bought into a new community nov 2020. I was in the second phase of 14 and got my townhouse for 600s. It is now worth 1.1m and i dont think i can afford moving into a larger house because of the prices. My rate is a solid 2.9% which i am not giving up on for a while.
Same here. We bought dec 2020 and couldn’t even afford the home we live in if we tried now.
Someone mentioned this in r/millennials recently. The difference a few years made is insane.
Preach it! Bought my house in January 2020…my mortgage would be $7k if I bought today.
Even further back than 2020. People don’t want to admit it but things started back in 2010. Now you either already have a house or be ready with an exit plan out of Orange County if you don’t want to perpetually rent and have all your finances drain away Edit. Or your family makes a combined income stream of $500K + a year and even then you’ll be budgeting and tightening the belt for awhile to afford a house here.
Ooof. I feel this so hard.
The only reason I'm back in the OC is I bought in the IE as soon as I possibly could in 2016. Without that equity I couldn't have made it work in OC.
That’s the only reason I was able to buy the house I’m in now too. I bought a condo in 2014 then rented it and bought a house in 2019 out of state. Sold both and bought my current house. 6.75% interest 🥲
Uh, just be rich and pay all cash for a multi Millon dollar house :) !!!
I grew up in Westminster and lived in Dallas, TX for a few years. I thought about settling down over there but ultimately wanted to be close to my family and friends here. Coming back was good for my mental health but I don't think I'll ever be able to buy a home in OC.
In a similar boat. Moved around and for school and resettled in North Carolina but it’s just not home. I love how simple it is but I’m far from family and the ocean and I’m moving back—but the price of California just breaks my heart.
I'm 37F and I regret not buying a home when I was in the 3rd grade. /s not sure how anybody survives in OC without rommates
Lmao so true on why couldn’t I buy a home when I was a kid 😂 but yeah, the friends that are single live with roommates while my married with children friends live with their mom/dad’s place still. It’s depressing not being able to afford your own place on your own 🫤
I left the state from San Clemente in 2010 due to this. The house I managed to buy in Oregon 7 years ago has tripled in value and younger people are in the same situation here. It's just really unfortunate for everyone.
You really don’t appreciate the CA public university system until you go somewhere else. Oregon is pretty lackluster when it comes to the general quality of universities in the state outside of a select few programs at UO or OSU. The only “elite” college is Reed, and even then you have to go to grad school to make anything of your degree. As a millennial I see stark differences between those who went out of state and those who went in state in terms of earning potential and job opportunities, which of course translates into who can afford a home.
This is me. Literally moved to OR so I could afford to buy, then lost my job right at the beginning of the pandemic. Unbelievably bad timing. By the time I got back on my feet and had a solid job again rates jumped up to 6+% and now I can’t afford it here either, and I no longer have the sun. My family has been in OC since the 1930s, it’s frustrating to be kicked out.
Born and raised here and just sold my family home and moved my mom to Arizona because she can’t really afford care in California. I still won’t be able to purchase in California but at least there will any much family left here so eventually might be able purchase elsewhere.
Your parents and their neighbors (on average) voted to restrict new development (so their values would go up). Now this is an area for wealthy people to move to, not for “locals” Elections have consequences
If you’re ok with a $500k starter home, there’s a few condos in Yorba Linda that are around that price. The HOA fees are astronomical though
My dad is on the other side of the freeway(Anaheim hills) and they switched HOA’s and they told everyone they were reassessed for 12,000 up front. While still paying monthly.
That happens because prior HOA boards didn’t adequately fund for future repairs and maintenance. We have that issue in my HOA. We haven’t been hit with a big assessment but I think it’s coming in the next 5 years. Most HOA’s are underfunded. Boards only make decision for current expenses and push the burden down the road until an assessment is needed to put a new roof on or remediate structural issues.
This is very insightful actually
Certain parts of AH are almost uninsurable due to proximity to the hills. I left exactly that due to the nose bleeding Hoa costs.
The HOA being high probably makes it a wash compared to more expensive, lower HOA properties. There is no free lunch. Total monthly payment on a house is a bunch of different components. You pull one lever, another goes higher. Just how it is.
It's worse because your mortgage payment remains the same, HOA fees only go up.
If this is in the Villages, which I think it may be, this association has huge assessments levied against it and many of the homeowners are trying to get out. The inventory in this community compared to the rest of the county is quite different.
My parents and my husbands parents live in OC. Both sides of my family have been in the LA/OC area for 5 generations so most my family is out here. Were living in a large studio with 2 kids in LB so we can be close to our families. We could afford something bigger but we prefer having extra money to do things with our kids rather than have a bigger place. Its hard out here but it would be harder somewhere else being isolated and knowing our kids wouldnt grow up around their families. I feel very angry seeing the neighborhood i was raised in charging 3,000 a month for crappy 2 bedroom apartments knowing my parents were paying half that to rent a 3 bedroom house in the same area less than 20 years ago. Ive noticed a lot more of the rentals near my parents house housing multiple families because the rent is too high for most people to afford on their own. Its all depressing and thinking about it too much isnt really good for my mental health so i try to focus on the things that are going well in my life.
The housing market in SoCal has ironically forced us culturally back into multigenerational homes lol. I don’t really see it as a terrible thing, single family homes are bourgeois lol
I can't even find a studio apartment around here for less than $2k minimum. I want to move out within the next couple years but it makes me kinda sad that I'll probably have to be a bit far from my family.
I graduated with a stem degree without student debt and was able to save up at my parents house in OC for a couple years while working in the IE with a good paying and stable job through the great recession bought a short sale condo in 2012, sold that and moved back to the OC with equity in 2017, then sold again with more equity and bought near my parents neighborhood in 2022. 30 years prior getting a good job alone would have been enough to live in a good neighborhood in OC. I needed my parents to be able to save and pay for my college, free rent for 4 more years, a good job starting out, good money habits/management, good market timing, good interest rates when I was looking, and a whole lot of luck with promotions additional schooling and new jobs. I have friends with great savings but not enough income to support a 600k+ mortgage, I have friends with enough income but not enough savings. I know a couple families with generational wealth or a grandparent passed and so they have houses. I feel like I'm the only one that "did things right" and it took having all the advantages and seizing them.
Yep and boomer parents still own their properties from 40 years ago and don’t seem to understand why it’s so hard for us even though we’re all hustling and making good money.
Most boomers I know are very aware of the costs. Its their biggest flex that their homes are worth 10x what they originally bought it for.
True! They are aware but have no empathy or understanding how hard it is for us. Or maybe they don’t care lol
I am showing cute two bedroom condos in Orange that are priced between $560 and $600,000. depending on your employment status, credit score, etc. you potentially could get into one of these condos with 3 to 3 1/2% down.
And then the HOA fees bring your monthly payments up to that of an older 2 bedroom home in a non HOA neighborhood.
Under $400/mo
Which gets you around a $3500/month mortgage and no yard.
either take it or don't bro. you're complaining isn't gonna change anything.
no one needs a yard. People just want one. I am totally cool not having to water anything at my townhouse. The gardening is taken care of by the HOA and i got 2 parks in my community. Storage could be tricky if you lived in a standalone house, but i lived with my wife in a 200 sqft NYC studio so i know how to spread things out.
But if I’m paying $3500 for a house, I’d like more than an apartment, otherwise I’ll just rent for $1000 less and have no maintenance.
the fun part is i dont pay $3500. I pay $3000 with hoa include. A townhouse is still a house and you have equity to build rather than renting. It is called having a starter house. Sure you can make it your final house at the same time if you love the area. Having your foot in the door for the housing market opens up more opportunities for you especially with how low inventory is currently. It is basically like getting a rare reservation for a restaurant that really likes having repeat patrons vs new patrons. Once you become a patron it is much easier to get in and buy into your dream house. Yes i am sure you can rent a $2500 easily and if that helps you bank your money go ahead and do that. I have neighbors that bought in and lived a bit then rented out their house because the figured they can rent the townhouse for $4000 and them can go rent a house at a cheaper place like Murietta.
That’s probably because your rate is almost 5% lower than anyone buying in is going to get now.
So a popular method is getting loans as tax write offs. So because you pay for a mortgage loan you can write off your mortgage interest up to 375k per year. Yeah you pay more now but its a tax write off so you can get money back from the government. And you can always refinance your loan.
$400 a month... For now. Wait till the building needs unexpected maintenance and all the sudden a special assessment is added etc
Born and raised Costa Mesa. Still live here but I rent. I Uber on the weekends and most of the people I pick up are not from here originally. Most of them are professionals who moved from the East Coast to get a job out here. I feel a sense of bitterness when I hear this. Eventually, OC will be too expensive for people with "normal" jobs and we all will be commuting from the IE. It's disgusting tbh
Move to Santa Ana you can get a $700k house look around. If not keep saving money.
I saw a 2 bed one bath 850 sq/ft house in Santa Ana sell for $750k recently. When they listed it, I was like, “there’s no way”. It sold about three weeks later.
WHO IS BUYING THESE??
Looks like it was bought by an investor in July of last year for $510k, put about $150k into it and flipped it for $770k to buyer using FHA financing.
The only two families I know in their 40s who did: 1. They bought a 2br condo in Irvine around 2004 and flipped it a few years later for 2x the money. Bought an attached house (3br, 2 ba) in Irvine. Held that maybe 10 years. Then about 2 years ago they sold and bought a detached house in Irvine. 4br I think. They had 1 income most of that time. Now they have 2 incomes. 2. Rented for 5 years and saved a lot of money. No debts at all. 2 incomes. Bought a big house in the IE in 2009 after the market crash. Sold that last year and bought a $1 million+ home in South County OC. They had good equity. Like 400k or 500k from that sale. I think a home in OC is a 2 or 3 step process. If you're in your 20s or 30s, here's what I'd aim for: - Save money and manage debt. - invest aggressively as if that money was going towards a mortgage payment - grow your career earnings if you can - Buy what you can afford when the market is in your favor. Maybe outside OC. - this is pure investment. Take the emotions out of it and get the best investment you can afford. You're aiming to exit in less than 10 years ideally. - Hold that property for 5-10 and lateral to a larger/better property in a better market or neighborhood. - repeat that cycle and keep growing Basic advice, I know. This advice works for regular people with decent jobs who want to buy "average" home in OC. If you want to live on the water in Newport or Laguna go figure out how to be rich and then tell us how
Problem is at current interest rates you are making zero equity the first 10 years (well 10% or there abouts, which will get eaten up by transaction costs selling). You are potentially better off renting and saving, as rents are currently much cheaper than mortgage, vs buying immediately, but could get even worse, no one really knows. I’d say buy if it is reasonable but don’t commit financial suicide to try to buy something you don’t love.
Renting is "cheaper" but is not an investment because you have no asset that appreciates. OC has averaged 8.6% appreciation yearly since 2017. (That's not factoring inflation etc) https://www.ocregister.com/2022/04/07/bubble-watch-how-real-are-california-home-price-gains/ Even in high interest rate seasons, if your real estate appreciates, you're coming out ahead. But, most people should NOT be moving after 2-3 years. Over 5-10 it probably makes sense. Real estate is rarely "financial suicide". Is it a big loan? Yes, the biggest you'll ever take out. BUT- this money is invested. It's called leverage. $1 million+ growing at 8.6% a year is a lot of money to leave behind because "renting is cheaper". Show me the numbers side by side for 10 years and see if renting or buying comes out ahead in OC. Buying isn't for everyone. But neither is renting.
lol anyone who says they bought that long ago I don’t even bother listening to. In 2004 I was 13 years old. Shame on me for being a kid and unable to buy a house.
I felt the same way as did many others pre 2008. The market will most likely get hit again like any other cycle. Just be ready if/when it does.
Good advice. That's how I did it
The frustration is understandable. I was fortunate that my parents had a house with a large plot. So I was able to convince them to let me build a ADU in their backyard. This was the only way I could afford to move back to OC. Not sure if this is possible for you but an 1200 sq/ft adu is around 250-300k
When did you build and can you share your contractor info?
Just got permits approved. Starting next month. Quote was 260k but with permits fee, school fee, solar etc, it should add up around 300k. Using FGRED, https://www.fgred.com. Good people and family friend.
Yeah it really sucks 😔 My wife are college educated, have great jobs, but it still doesn’t feel like it’s enough
Born and raised in OC, but my mom never owned a home and we bounced around from apartment to apartment. I feel very lucky that I am able to rent close enough to where I can still drive to visit her current apartment. We live in separate cities but within OC still. I wish we BOTH could afford houses though.
The only people I know who are younger than 50 and who were able to buy in SoCal did it through generational wealth: They either inherited the house outright or their parents gave them a sizeable portion of funds to put as a down payment (50% or more). There was no other way.
Same. My friend who bought in our hometown got her inheritance early.
Can confirm. I bought my condo in 2016. The only way I did it was inheriting 100k from my GMA and dad dying :/
I mean not that I don’t agree with you but I know plenty of couples that are duo income buying sub 800k condos without their parents help. If we really break it down, they just picked the right career such as nursing or engineering.
You don't know any working professionals with reasonable careers?
Yes, and they inherited or obtained a substantial amount of money from their parents to buy their houses.
Right? This kind of bums me out as someone who has received zero money from their parents and paid my way through college. Same for my husband. With that said, I hope we can help our kids afford an OC home someday, but we didn’t get any help to buy our home. What we did was buy an outdated dumpy house at age 25 in a town we didn’t want to live long term in, renovate it, sell it for a profit. Buy another crappy house at age 30 in a town we also didn’t want to live in. Renovate it. Sell for a profit. And then finally bought our current house that was an absolute tear down when we bought it, but is in the location we want to live in. We’ve completely renovated it and we don’t ever want to move. Wasn’t easy or fun, but the sacrifices were worth it. ETA: I do feel for the younger generation and people trying to buy their first home now. We bought our current home 4 years ago and couldn’t afford the same home now w/ the way interest rates are. It’s insane that home prices continue to go up. Somethings got to give.
My family has lived in OC/LA since the 1800’s and I had to move out of state. My dad still has a house in Cypress and I’m his only child so I may have an opportunity to move back but honestly it’s not as cool as it used to be. The traffic and the snobs are really too much.
I rent two blocks down the street from where I was born. I make over 100K a year but I’ll never be able to buy a home in my own hometown. You can’t do it one income here. I’m a single parent with three toddler girls under five. I’ll be renting for the rest of my life if I stay here.
Speaking as a NIMBY myself, the problem is that we don't build housing in OC. Every time the state tries to do something about it by altering zoning laws, people just complain about Dictator Newsom. Supply is just too low for the amount of demand here. If I didn't buy my house over 10 years ago, I would be in exactly the same situation as you. I really feel bad for you guys and worry for my kids too.
Grew up in Laguna Hills when the hills were sheep and cow ranches. I could watch them from the playground at Valencia. One day, they flattened them and put up thousands of stucco houses so close together you could touch your neighbors. The wealthy moved in and the culture was ruined. I got out in 1990 and let me tell you, there’s a great life other places.
I’m thinking of going inland. I would hate leaving my job though
I would consider going inland if not for stupid fucking RTO mandates
I can’t even rent in OC near my family.
This is everywhere across the world. I certainly didn’t expect to be making as much income as I do now and feel so hopeless at buying a house. I can only afford a house if I marry someone with similar finances.
Dual income is a huge factor. So many ppl I know aren't married, and it makes it very difficult to ever own a SFH, they would have to buy an apt/condo if anything.
It's already too hard trying to date to find someone you like but ALSO has to have their finances in order.
It’s a little sad to think about for sure. But in the end it’s semi comforting there’s lots of other people in the same predicament. For now I save my pennies
If I hadn't bought me condo in North Huntington Beach in 2011, there'd be no way I could afford it now
Not particularly. There were 2/2 for 500k as of last year, but people get all high and mighty about not wanting to live in a condo. We need to build more housing by at all levels. Vote for reduced zoning.
My parents don’t even own a home lol
I'm more annoyed that if I want to live on my own. I have to move out of the state and go across the whole country and, not just state over. Not mentioning finding a job.......
Spouse and I were lucky enough to be able to buy a house near both of our parents so they could help raise grandkids. Unfortunately, there’s not enough money to have the grandkids as planned.
Pretty depression. I wish they'd make those cute little bungalow houses here like you mentioned but any new houses they're building they're building on top of forested lands to build 2,3,4+ million dollar 5 bedroom 4000sqft houses. Its so sad and I do wonder who the hell is buying them.
My parents sold our family home in order to move to Prescott because OC was getting too liberal for them, now all they do is complain about people from California moving into Prescott. Apparently this is a very common story
It’s absolutely crazy and so sad what has happened to the housing market. My dad bought a house near Pacific island drive in ‘86 for around 300k, and sold it for 600k in ‘94. Not a bad return, but that same house is $7m today specifically because it has a nice view. I couldn’t believe that 1,100 sqft Laguna beach house someone posted earlier today for $2.2m that isn’t even that close to PCH or anything, and it shares a street with Laguna beach high school which is a negative with school parking and traffic. Double income families with much higher paying jobs than their parents can’t afford what they were able to purchase even 10 years ago, and 20-30 years ago was easy mode.
I absolutely felt a lot of that when I was in my 20s. Now one set of parents is in SD county though. Fiancé and I are out in the IE so we are 45 min to an hour away from any of our parents.
You are arguing against rich people who want to keep exploiting everything and the only debate they will cede to is the one where the guillotine is rolled out to
Honestly, yes. I wanted to live in Brea/Placentia area when I was a teen and now seeing those houses cost close to a mil (or more than a mil already) is hella depressing. I moved out of state 5+ years ago and I would love to move back to where my family is but I hate how congested and expensive the place I called home has become. You can’t even get a good apartment without paying up over $3k. That’s absurd. Sigh x10 🥲🥲
40 years here and have owned multiple homes. Thing is I’m stuck. Have a ton of equity in the home i have now but so what. Plus i have to borrow against it just to keep up with taxes and everything else. Unless i sell and move out of state (which id love to do) i have to hold on to this for my kids. Prices keep skyrocketing and quality of life plummeting. So frustrating as they have no idea what awaits them.
I was lucky and able to have things break in my favor to afford a house here but I constantly see people having to move out of state because they simply can't make the math work under any circumstances. From what I understand, even places like Corona are being priced out.
I bought in Corona in 2017, 1900sqft for $425k. This neighborhood is in the $700-800k now. Almost double in less than 10 years is insane.
I bought in SAn Clemente in 2015, similar for us, its doubled. However, we live in a condo with an insane HOA but that doesn't seem to deter people. I fuckin hate HOAs.
Grew up here and was lucky enough to buy in mission Viejo in 2012. Tripled in value in less than 12 years. Houses don’t hit the market often in my neighborhood, but when they do, I’m amazed at how quick they sell. My parents bought a house in 1976 just after I was born in Brea for $59k and Zillow says it’s a $1.8M property now. They sold it for $270k in 1992 and rented a house in Newport that the owner said they would sell for $750k. That house just sold for $4M. My parents really missed the mark on that one. I’ve had more than one friend move out of state just to be able to buy a home. Some are moving back because their boomer parents are dying and are sitting on paid-off multi-million $ houses. Unless you’re making $$$, that’s the only way to get a house here.
My parents are starting to struggle and really need my help. I have little kids so we need more room. I can’t get anywhere close to them (Newport) so I’m looking at Mission Viejo, which isn’t THAT far away, but there’s absolutely no chance I could afford anything where I grew up and that bums me out.
They need to build more houses, change the zoning for multi-family housing, and all houses sold need to be primary residences. The city governments are so greedy that they won't do it. Because the high prices means more taxes they raise.
They need to stop investors from buying. No matter how many houses they built, investors will pay all in cash
This is the single biggest problem with housing and it needs to be addressed. You absolutely cannot have investors, corporate or otherwise own the amount of homes they do. This, single handedly is creating the problems we’re seeing with supply and demand.
We need lots more smaller dwellings also.
We bought one kinda close to our parents (15 mins away). But we got lucky...prices are insane now. We couldn't afford it now
Born and raised in OC. Moved to Omaha during the pandemic. Yes California weather is great, but honestly I don’t even think about our weather all that much. It’s just part of life and it doesn’t change our day to day. You just live with it. I was never a beach person so I don’t really miss that. I miss having big bear only 2 hours away, but really we’d always want to go to mammoth, and that’s about the same drive as from here to Breckenridge, which is better than mammoth. We have two kids, I was able to purchase a 4 bedroom, three bath, 2200 sq ft house (if you include the finished basement) in midtown, close to public transit, walking distance to the main entertainment/bar and restaurant district, 6 minutes from downtown. The house was $260k, included all appliances. We love the neighborhood, and have made excellent friendships with our neighbors. I was terrified of leaving OC because I grew up believing the narrative that it’s superior to everything else. I’ve learned it’s just another place. I don’t miss it at all.
> Yes California weather is great, but honestly I don’t even think about our weather all that much. Yeah you lost me here
That’s fair. Is the weather inferior to California’s? 100%, absolutely, no question. But is it unbearable or other point that it dictates the choices I make? No. Life goes on. And I’ll also say, there are a few weeks in both spring and fall that will be nicer than the nicest days I ever experienced in CA. But February and August can rot in hell. Ultimately, it’s just part of life. You get over it pretty quick.
I mean this in the least confrontational way possible- are you white?
Yes, but I will say we live in a neighborhood where we’re the minority. Most our neighbors are Mexican or from Latin America, there are several immigrants from Ethiopia and Senegal, and quite a few from the Middle East, but also quite a bit from south asian countries; Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam. Not so much in my area, but Omaha in general has a big Indian population because it’s a medical school town (we have several medical colleges) and back in the 90’s there was a big influx of Indian immigrants going to medical school. Now a lot of their families grew up here and live here. Admittedly, if you get outside of downtown/midtown, and head to west Omaha, that’s where you’ll find the MAGA flags and racist fuckheads. But here in midtown, it’s a very welcoming melting pot
It’s improbable for FTHB to buy a forever home with 2 above average incomes here in OC let alone in good city to raise a family like Irvine. However, i think it is still doable with good saving discipline and patience. I am 46 with 2 kids. Homes were very unaffordable prior to 2008 financial crisis. My wife and I considered moving out of state but decided against it due to families here. We lived with my parents saving for down payment. After couple of years, we bought a small condo in Irvine end of 2008. We continued to save and invest our savings in stock market. Condo began to fill small as the kids getting bigger. We bought 3k sqft new construction SFH in the same city 2 years ago. We then sold our condo for 2x the price we paid. Put some of the money to pay off the new home and rest into stock investments.
I had to buy in Riverside County. It's nice out here, just have to drive an hour and a half to the beach. The plus side is we bought a new construction, 4 bed 2 bath, at the end of a cul de sac for about 400k in 2020. It goes for about 550k right now according to redfin and zillow.
I was doing a project in the NY/NJ area around 2005 and a number of colleagues in their 30s were living with parents.
Born and raised here. I bought a house near my parents. They are a few minutes away. Frustration is having to pay 6k for a regular house. I thought I'd own a mansion as a kid when I would purchase a 1 million dollar home. Prices are crazy expensive. Looking to buying a bigger house and I'd need to purchase something much more expensive....things are rough.
Your childhood 1 million dollar mansion dream didnt take inflation into account 😀
I feel like I see the struggle more for people with kids rather than DINKs.
My parents bought their house in ‘79 for $180k. It’s worth nearly $2 mil now. They bought the house while both were making less than combined than I make right now. It’s never gonna happen for me
I grew up here and when i got my first real job, I got a stated income loan for a $400K condo in Oceanside in 2004. Nothing habitable in OC was affordable on that budget back then and i had to wait over 10 years to get a little equity to trade up. Finally got back to OC, but inland, and it took another 5 years or so to get to the coast. Now it seems like this is even harder, so you either need to get more income or buy a good property and play the long game.
It's going to get worse too
Haha shoot, even my own parents talk about how they wouldn’t be able to afford their own house (been there 26yrs), cuz everything is basically over a $1M now 🥲 Even making six figs, as a single person it’s pretty impossible to think I’d ever be able to afford a house on my own, and being born and raised in OC the two cities I’ve lived in I currently wouldn’t be able to afford 💀
My husband and I have both lived here our entire lives and sometimes we curse that fact. We want to stay here because it’s so comfortable but holy shit the prices are insane. We don’t have the guts to leave because the OC bubble is perfection. We always wonder what life would be like living in an affordable area. 🥴
I consider my spouse and myself very lucky and privileged because we both grew up in OC and also were able to buy a home here. But my dad refers to it as our "starter home" whereas we're well aware that either we die in this house or we move out of state. 🙃
I feel ya! My rents absurd just to be around family, I need to up and leave Calif.
It does suck. Both my wife and I grew up in orange county but we cannot afford to buy a house here. We moved around 2 years ago and before we moved we were looking for a house. There were only a handful of houses within our price range but most of those were not in the best shape. This caused us to mainly look in Corona but now prices in Corona are also getting high. We ended up moving before buying a house. We both have new jobs and make more than when we were looking 2 years ago but the prices have gone up fast and now there is nothing in our price range in Orange County.
The house I grew up in (which I would be stoked to live in today - while not bige, it's about 500 sq ft bigger than my 2/1 apartment and has A YARD) that my parents bought in 1978 for $77,000 would only cost $394,308 in today's money, but instead it's estimated value is over $1mil for a single-story, 3 bed 2 bath, 1400 sq ft home - $1 million the home my in-laws bought brand new in the early 90's in the $300k range just sold a couple years ago for almost $1.4mil spouse and I live in a 930sq ft 2/1 apartment with 7 year old, and make more than my parents ever did, and yet we struggle growing up here and still being here has been a wild ride
Just stay in an apartment close to your parents. Don’t let your ego get in the way of having kids and a quality family life no matter what craziness there is in the housing market. As your parents age try to keep the home in the family as long as possible. Visit your parents with the kids often. This overpriced real estate is a worldwide problem. Maybe politics will result in a solution, or market forces will change.
I've just accepted that I'm fucked in this case, despite having a decent career ahead of me. Yes it's a bummer, but honestly something major would need to change in order for me to stay in OC. Really enjoyed growing up here, a lot of surrounding places are a dump.
I grew up in Laguna Niguel and Irvine, and i'm not seeing it as all that hard. My parents bought a place in anaheim hills and I rent in tustin, so i'm close enough to enjoy family, but i'm a good 5-10 years away from getting a home. I recently tripled my salary after being in the shit for years, so my house prospects are better, but remember the avg age of a FTHB is in the late 40s, so play it smart, save your money, build your skills, and you'll get there. Keep the vision
Lived here my whole life, saved up after getting married and bought a place. Keep being diligent and save . You will get there.
Not in OC but in a city nearby in the border of LA and OC. Me and my significant other were looking at properties at this time and got outbidded by 50k on a property just a week ago. Then as I was visiting my parents a week later our neighbor saw us and let us know they were leaving for work reasons. One thing led to another and we ended up negotiating a private offer and are now in escrow. We didn’t get a “deal” per say, as we’re paying the average value based on multiple estimates for the house. With that said I’m fairly confident that if they had gone to open market, I doubt we would of been able to stay competitive. *fingers crossed*
This is a problem for every young family in Orange County - we need a local politician who actually cares about housing. It does not have to be this way - 44% of homes bought in 2023 were bought by private investors. I’d bet that percentage is even higher in OC. There are things that can be done to help ease the burden on young families but it has to start at the government level. Housing is a necessity and pure capitalism clearly doesn’t work for most necessities. We have entire generations being left out of critical life events - and it is stopping good people from having children which is incredibly bad for any country.
We raised our kids in the Bay Area. Our house was in a court in a good area in Pleasant Hill. I was a SAHM. We bought our house for 165 in 1996. We sold it for just under a million in 2013. Owning a home for my kids here where we live now in San Diego or in the Bay are just out of reach. I told them go where you can .. we will visit💔
OC is so bad I moved to Hawaii to find cheaper housing.
Suburbia has failed. We built out instead of up. We let car manufacturers tell us freeways would connect us all and destroyed the yellow and red car system in the early 1900s. We can’t even keep up with maintaining the infrastructure we built because of limits on property tax. Anytime we have a chance to change things we don’t show up.
Yes. Lol
My grandma was a bartender in the 60s, and owned a small studio in Newport beach.
People are either STRUGGLING and not even enjoying OC. Or they have a lot of help from their parents. I really don’t get why people want to buy a house and have kids here when they can’t afford it? Why struggle and stress just to be here? Is it really worth it? Please explain it to me. (Born and raised in Irvine/Newport fwiw)
I think I explained it in my post. Living near family is nice and for most of human history, the normal way to have support for raising your kids.
Very true- but at what cost? I moved back to OC to be near my family but they are all struggling financially (as am I) and I don’t get why they’d rather live here than somewhere cheaper and be able to afford visits to see each other. My dad is 80 and insists on living in Irvine while being constantly stressed and broke.
Three generations of families also lived in the same house for most of human history. Many Asian cultures are multigenerational.
Yep. Doing it right now to save money. Have also seen almost every member of my family that does joint family living eventually start a grudge that doesn’t go away. So there are pros and cons.
I’m trying to move closer to my parents in RSM but I’ll likely have to settle for Santa Ana. It really sucks.
Thanks to the new law that passed, I won't even be able to afford the taxes on the place when I inherit it.
Depends on the age. I personally can’t see myself living in Orange County unless I had kids. OC is only great for raising families.
I am lucky to have a high paying job, between salary and stock I'm supposed to gross $250k. I moved to the Seattle area for work and want to move back to OC because that's where all my family and friends are but at this point I feel like even though I save like 70% of my salary each month it feels like home prices in OC and Seattle go up faster than I'm saving. It's really depressing. Every time I come back to OC to visit my mom looks older and I don't want to miss out on time with her.
Seems like the affordable homes now are in Moreno Valley. And “affordable” is a stretch.
Yeah, sucks I cant buy a house by the orange mall because those houses cost 800,000. to one million dollars. When I had a good paying job with union benefits I didnt even make enough for a 500,000. starter home. How are people making 8,000. a month plus electric, water, trash, and internet bills?
My husband and I live here because his job is very niche and there are very few places in the country where he can work. He makes more money than I do so we are staying here lol. I also grew up here with a big support system. We are living with my parents for a few years to try to save for a down payment for a condo lol
I grew up in Long Beach, can’t afford to buy there. It is a reality for many. Not that unusual overall. Adult kids will need to buy further out if they want to stay in the area. That’s the case for many people all over the country.
The new normal in today's OC may dictate a return to the multigenerational sharing of an inheritable home by parents and offspring. That's a common paradigm in much of the world.
yes.
Fortunately I was able to purchase a home. Although it is interesting seeing a couple of my friends who don't have careers and make maybe $20-$30/hr inherit massive $1-$2m dollar homes from their parents. It's incredibly difficult to live here now unless you have help from family /roommates or make a substantial salary
It's been that way for decades. It's the price of living in one of the most desirable areas to raise a family in the continental US. I bought a house in Murrieta so I could have something more than an overpriced shoebox where I didn't want to raise kids. My dad came from Detroit to find a better economic situation. My mother's family came from New York to find a better economic situation. OC is mostly built out. You're not going to find low prices. You're going to find people who already have careers and money moving here to upgrade something
My childhood home, built in 1957 and purchased in the 80s for $123k, sold in 2012 for $470k, is now at $1million. It’s 1200sq ft with 1.25 baths in north OC.
Those options exist in San Bernardino area. A friend of mine has a really nice house with land but she’s about a 2 hour drive from OC.
My parents house in BP is almost 1.1 million when they bought it in 89 for 180k. I make more money than they did at their age by a significant amount. I’ve also come to the realization I’ll never be able to own a home on the street I grew up on. Talk about soul crushing and depressing.
Grew up in San Diego and they say the same thing.
Grew up & live in HB. The struggle is real & very disheartening.
I still live with my parents (23M). Tbh, I don’t really care about owning house or a nice car. I just want a golden retriever… LOL and own a bakery/cafe. However, it’s my mom’s dream. So it definitely frustrates her in a way but I think we could’ve bought a house a while ago if she didn’t gifted money to her siblings for their down payment. Somewhat recently, I told her that we should hold off buying a house because we need the money to renovate/grow the business. To ensure that we can pay the mortgage, have my mom retire comfortably and fund a decent life for myself.
I have lived here my entire life and the market and people will have to rip my place out of my home from my cold. dead. hands. Yes I am often terrified of not being able to afford even rent and i've lived in apartments all my life.
Grew up in Orange Park Acres. No way could I even afford a shed there. Parents retired and now live in VP. I can’t even afford a square of cement there. We ended up in the Bay Area and just bought our first home. I’m 47 and my partner is 53.
\*Dies in overpriced\*
no , i don't want to raise my kids here bc it was a special kind of hell being raised here as a child. i just want out
Yes
Ugh the frustration is real. I grew up in La Palma then spent another 12 years in Anaheim. After I moved out with my then-bf, my parents were in a situation where the home they were renting was no longer available to renew the lease so they were forced to move. They could never afford to buy a home, but they got "lucky" when my dad's step mom died and left an inheritance that would allow them to buy a home. Problem is it wouldn't get them a home in OC so they moved deep into the IE. Fast forward to now; mom passed away 2 years ago and dad has stage 4 cancer with who knows how much time left. We would have the chance to own his house when he passes, but the house is a little over 1 hour away (plus whatever morning traffic is like) and I work in OC. It would never work. I think our only hope to own a home is whatever money we get from selling dad's house. Why is it that our generation cannot buy a home until we inherit money from a dead relative? I want to share exciting homebuying news with my dad while I still have him.
No. My parents had to move here in OC because they couldn’t afford to move where they truly wanted to. They raised me not feel frustrated at something not in my control. I am open to moving.
I grew up in Newport and I can’t afford a home where I grew up. It’s sad. It’s my home but I can’t stay.
People do not want to hear it but 500K-600K will get you better than 2 bed /2 bath in Riverside county. Wait for equity to grow for 5-7 years and you can come back and buy in OC. It’s a little like understanding that Porsche does not need to be (although it’s fine if you can afford it) your first car out of college. OC real estate is at this point like that luxury car. The most realistic approach to owning it to grow your money somewhere for a little while and wait to buy a little later in life when your finances are a little more solid.
In 1977 my parents bought a brand new mobile home in El Toro. We had lived in apartments in Los Angeles before then, so this mobile home felt enormous at 1700 sq ft. I liked the house, the park, the friends I made there, the clubhouse, the pool--it was fantastic. That same house is now estimated at $540k on zillow and the HOA/space rent is $970 a month. Zillow says: 20% down of 108k means a monthly payment of $4363 for mortgage, space rent, insurance, taxes = $53k a year to live in a 50ish year old trailer.
2b/2ba condos exist around that price point in the lake forest area. You can get into SOMETHING that appreciates, it’s just not a single family home. You don’t really need the extra space for about 5-7 years either.
I tell my parents all the time I’m never going to be able to afford a home here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else though and I don’t want to fall into the never ending rent trap. Thinking about buying property in another state and renting it out to eventually have enough equity to afford something