Orlando realtor Freddie Smith discusses how owning a home and living a typical middle class life has become increasingly unattainable for most millennials and older Gen Z.

TL;DR: Americans now need to make $120K a year to afford a typical middle-class life and qualify to purchase a home. Minimum.

  • MonsiuerPatEBrownEnglish
    55·
    4 months ago

    Smith explained how, just a few years ago, $60-$70K a year would have been sufficient to qualify for a home.

    Yeah, no. It was more than a few years ago.

    I think that this has been trouble since 2007. Financial institutions went from giving lots of home loans to only giving corporations and the elite loans.

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.mlOP
      27·
      4 months ago

      I don’t have a full Orlando market research report but pre-pandemic (2018) you could get a house in my neighborhood (Davenport) for $265k-325k. In 2024 the starting price is ~$650k. In 2018 I bought a house (Orlando) for my aunt to live in for $150k. After buying the little bungalow, I saw the rest of that neighbohood get gobbled up by investment funds and now it is almost completely rentals. The current comps have it at $325k.

      Homes were dirt cheap from 2009 until about 2013, but everyone was broke. Prices were reasonable from 2014 to maybe 2018 (maybe). The post lockdown boom and investment fund buying spree has been insane.