OP’s right on top of that, @Astronaut_M_Dexter@lemmy.world!
hungrycat
joined 1 year ago
I’d say “some,” not a lot. And I’d also qualify them as reasonable assumptions given the article content and your original comment. But regardless, you agree things are worse now, and to the people who can’t afford homes, being in a situation that’s only a bit worse rather than impossibly worse could be a meaningless distinction. As I said, your parents are not the problem just because they want to stay in their home, but there is a problem.
The age range of millennials, the age of boomers, the idea that a forever long-term home is likely a second or third home purchase, your statement that you grew up in that house and are presumably a millennial. What year are we talking then? Average rates were level ‘85-90 in the 10% range, dropping after that.
That’s a fair point, if you’re among those who don’t wait the length of time for an entire generation to come of age and two thirds of your loan period to pass before you get to see lower interest rates. Between the late 70s and early 80s there was a steep rise in mortgage rates, but this quickly dropped off and returned to early 1970s rates. Rates stayed mostly constant from then until the 2000s when they began to drop off, reaching a near once-in-a-lifetime historic low just a few years ago.
Wages haven’t risen with inflation to allow others to reap the benefits of buying in and waiting for their property values to soar. And the topic in this particular thread isn’t renting vs buying. The original commenter stated that the article didn’t consider their parents’ 12% mortgage rate. This specific discussion is about whether holding onto a 12% loan for thirty years at a starting 1990 salary is equivalent to today’s rate with today’s prices at today’s salary—and it’s not.
I’m not a math whiz, but just using an online loan interest calculator, comparing the total cost of the median loan to median salaries for 1990 vs today, that 12% rate still doesn’t make up for the difference in home prices and the stagnating wages young people face today. Seven percent mortgage rate today (which is being generous) compared to 12% yesteryear, at homes that were one quarter of today’s price, with salaries that have grown by barely a third… it just doesn’t add up. I’m not saying your parents are wrong, I’m saying there is something wrong.
Came for the dogs, stayed for the Scully.
Couldn’t you submit your own attempts (or a commission) to GitHub, or directly to @aeharding@vger.social to consider for inclusion? I’d personally prefer for the primary developer to focus efforts on continuing to make app functionality awesome.