My only hope of home ownership around here is waiting for my parents to die and inheriting one. That said, I keep telling them to sell all their shit, move somewhere cheaper, and retire for fuck's sake, so we'll see how that pans out.
Zillow is a part of the problem. With all the data collected and only a few companies, prices are conveniently increasing at extreme rates. It is not just cities; land and rural areas are increasing at high rates.
Speaking of which, zillow's stupid "zestimate" is worthless. Any assclown can put their house up for way too high a price and the zestimate will automatically jump up to match.
Apparently the value is whatever the seller says it is, even if the home has been on the market for over a year (either continuously or repeatedly taken off and put on, I guess to reset the time on market).
Just 1 chart with literally zero further info, no published actual data of where these numbers came from, how they calculated them, how they gathered the data.
Why do people fall for empty garbage articles like this so easy. I wish we collectively called this out more.
If a person posts an article citing another article, instead of just the original article, they should get fuckin blasted for it and downvoted to hell.
Doesn't sound super fake if you are looking for a place with what I think are pretty reasonable basic characteristics of comfort and security.
House that can accommodate a small family not in a higher than average crime area, does not require fix up maintenance that those of us working long hours will never have time to do or can't afford to have done, has been well cared for and doesn't feel gross. I'm not talking luxury homes here, I'm just talking about something that you would at least look forward to coming home to.
When I see all these people buying these homes, I'm just shocked at how they have either accrued so much wealth or are so comfortable with so much debt.
Zillow wrote a garbage article without the data they claim to have used, which was then copied without any added value, to be linked here. I want to know, starting with their definition of a city and their definition of a starter home
This is the inevitable result of infinite growth. You aren't getting a home in world class locations without being at the very top yourself. Sure other people lucked into the right place and the right time. Go buy lottery tickets. Or set down in location that is more affordable. With any luck you'll be a multimillionaire when you're elderly too. And the kids of the year 2060 will hate you for the dastardly plot you schemed up with your friends to ruin everything.
We're all part of the rat race that is fucking us over. Nobody wants to flinch. So we continue to eat each other alive.
At which point, Id have to spend the money saved on housing on buying, fueling, maintaining and insuring a car, if I was even able to drive one in the first place.
Well... define starter home. I got a starter for about half that in LA but I have a shared wall townhome. Not great, but if we're talking no shared walls and a yard, ya I can see that costing more... Except I also saw those for about this price, only with like... 600sq ft? Pick you battles, but those aren't a million even in the city.
Now, maybe the 200 cities are specific neighborhoods, like how Santa Monica isn't technically Los Angeles since it's got it's own city government. Same with Beverly Hills, Bel Air, etc. You sure as hell ain't getting a place for 1 mil there, even if it's a small "starter home."
All of your question are answered right at the beginning of the article:
"Zillow defines “cities” as distinct housing markets, which can include large suburbs, towns or boroughs within major metro areas. “Starter homes” are defined as properties in the bottom third of home values within a given market. That means these aren’t luxury listings — they’re the least expensive homes available in each city."
Gotcha. So yes, it's misleading headline, mostly for the first part since you can probably pull up 200 "cities" where you'd be nuts to find your first home. You aren't getting your first home in Malibu, that's just silly.