• Oso_Rojo [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    People are buying houses in my city for 10-20% over the asking price in cash. Average cost of a home is now around $450k but minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour. I can only wonder how long it can last like this. I’ll probably never own a home at this rate.

    • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Where are these people getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash? Seriously, I can't figure it out, that's a fuck ton.

      • StalinistApologist [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Cryptocurrency speculation, selling their California house, $550k total compensation at FAANG companies, rich parents. Or worse from landlording or real estate speculation

      • LeninWalksTheWorld [any]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        my neighbor's business made a bunch of money off everything going online (they do software development or something) and for the past year they have been buying tons of houses and renting them outand I think make more money leaching off their tenants now :agony-shivering:

        • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Best country on earth. The city I live in is marked by high costs due to retirees owning a couple investment properties and then having one of a few management monoliths actually service it.

      • Oso_Rojo [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        It seems to be a lot of investment and real estate companies in my cities. There are private individuals from higher cost of living areas that have cash from their previous homes too.

      • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I was going through the process of applying for a home loan to put in a bid months ago and asked my loan officer about this ("is this real in our area?"), and they said "we have definitely heard about organizations making all cash offers well over asking to secure a home quickly since that means the bidder doesn't have to wait the weeks it takes for traditional financing"

        I have seen financial news articles that say a lot of "institutional investors" (I.e. index funds and pensions etc) are increasing their involvement in residential housing investment through rental companies.

        the comments were full of middle class types realizing it was probably their own retirement account making it harder for them to own a home and that, if there is a housing market collapse, it will fuck homeowners from selling their home to retire and tank their retirement plans.

        • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Oh of course. This must be all the competition I've heard about that makes the market work. :mao-aggro-shining: