Quirky_Butterfly_946 t1_ja89mtb wrote
People are going to have to wait out the market. People can get everything ready for when something comes up so they can move quickly.
Maxpowr9 t1_ja8cxqx wrote
The boomers ironically will have priced themselves out of the GBA once they retire since they blocked so much housing being built that could have been for them.
therealcmj t1_ja8fell wrote
There was a news piece a while back about boomers being upset that there were no smaller apartments and homes in their towns that they could down size into.
And I got to literally laugh out loud at them facing the consequences of their own actions and voting behavior. Before I was sad again about how fucked the housing market is for everyone.
vhalros t1_ja9dmj3 wrote
I think it was this one (or some similar one): https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/29/metro/market-badly-out-kilter-many-older-residents-are-stuck-their-homes/
Yeah, the article kind of missed that smaller units were mostly illegal.
pancakeonmyhead t1_jad7yqq wrote
I've heard multiple stories from people who bought a building in Somerville or Cambridge (this goes back to the '90s) and find that part of the building had illegally been converted into a mother-in-law apartment or that there was an illegal unit added into somewhere like a basement or an attic.
vhalros t1_jad8a7k wrote
Yeah, the basement of my current home in Somerville definitely had an illegal apartment in it a some point. There are still remnants of tile from a bathroom.
pointycube t1_jaaqa12 wrote
This is my mom. I've tried explaining it to her, she just gets mad. I've given up.
At the same time she's been bitching for months now about the two single-family homes going up across the street from her house "because it is too dense".
Boomers gonna boom.
Cameron_james t1_ja8p0vh wrote
The other issue with this is that because they can't downsize they will stay in housing that is too big. This will keep homes from reaching the market...and the cycle worsens.
Maxpowr9 t1_ja8v6hu wrote
See the tax break Healy is suggesting for said seniors. Will only make the housing market worse.
AboyNamedBort t1_ja93cdg wrote
Yeah, I don't get giving seniors a break on property taxes. Old people own all the damn property. Give young people who own nothing a break. If an old person is struggling to pay property taxes then they bought something they couldn't afford. They can get a roommate to help pay expenses. That is what they tell young people to do.
bobby_j_canada t1_ja9fiz2 wrote
It's because your local city councilors and state representatives get 74 calls per week from retired senior citizens and 6 calls per week from young people trying to start a family.
Maxpowr9 t1_ja94sq9 wrote
Or have their adult kids move in with them to help pay bills.
Cameron_james t1_ja966o4 wrote
Many seniors do live with family or with roommates in a "retirement home." Those are things that already happen.
3720-To-One t1_ja9grxl wrote
“Let them eat cake neighborhood character”
massahoochie t1_ja9saje wrote
This is brilliant.
Walden_Walkabout t1_ja8ufbc wrote
My issue with this advice is that more often than not "waiting out the market" simply hasn't worked. History shows that real estate prices trend much further upward in the long term than any downward trends or adjustments in interest rates have made housing more affordable in short term events in the past. Even during 2008 Boston had very resilient housing prices compared to the rest of the US. Waiting for the next major crash could mean missing out on decades of price appreciation. For those that buying now or in foreseeable future is impossible for, this reality simply sucks and we as a society need to address it, but waiting for a crash to fix this for them is not a realistic option.
CostcoBrandDinosaur t1_ja93464 wrote
You can't wait it out. Saving money is being outpaced at the rate of interest rate and home price increases. If you aren't already in, you aren't going to be able to save your way in unless you start making 30% more annual salary.
A lot of us are utterly fucked by treating housing like investments and businesses. Eventually most people in our situation will get sick of endless rent increases and leave for cheaper locations. Boston either starts to fix this now or will see some serious exodus from the mid-high level salary ranges (140-200k) which represents a lot of Boston's workforce and then has knock-on effects on the service industry and small businesses.
willhill t1_jaa62eb wrote
Bought a condo (converted 4 unit apartment building, nothing remotely fancy) in 2019 after scraping together a down payment. Unit next to mine sold to a boomer couple, who live on the cape, for their late-20s kids to live in. I got in a fight with the mom because she kept calling the building an investment... I had to repeatedly say "This is my home, I live here" to convince her I was much more invested in its upkeep than she would ever be. The "housing as investment" people can get fucked. Housing is a human right and they are the problem.
vhalros t1_ja9dbks wrote
Not to mention the opportunity cost of letting a downpayment sit there in cash for years while you "wait it out".
Academic_Guava_4190 t1_jab8acd wrote
This right here. I’m waiting for people to leave because for the last 10 years I get to the point where I finally have 20% saved and then house prices go up by just that much more. I had my fingertips touching a house in 2020 and then I lost my job. I’m thankful it happened before the sale but I’m still bitter about it.
rainniier2 t1_jabpa1y wrote
Interestingly, my former coworker who lives in nowheresville Texas just accepted a fully remote programming job for a MA hospital. I imagine no one in MA could afford to take the role for the salary she’s being paid (def <$100k/yr). But I guess it’s a win win for them. And yes, that leaves the rest of us screwed or needing to move and reliant on fully remote work.
downthewell62 t1_ja9hvqp wrote
They're not making more land. They're not making more houses. There's no way to wait this out. The middle class will collapse before housing prices do
UltravioletClearance t1_jaa8cqi wrote
Time in the market beats timing the market. If you really have your heart set on Boston and can afford to buy now, you should just go outside the metro area until you can find something you can afford and buy. Build up that equity, then if the situation improves in Boston, cash out the equity and buy in Boston. If not, stay where you are.
If you're ready to buy now and keep waiting, you're going to lose in the end with inflation eating away at that down payment.
fatnoah t1_ja8opgt wrote
I feel like this is what happened after 2008. Lots of people were on the sidelines and demand for homes was like a dam breaking.
[deleted] t1_ja90a33 wrote
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