My good friend was willed a small house in her divorce proceedings. The house is about 750 sq ft, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath and a sizeable back yard. This house last sold in 1976 for $48K and today it's posted by realtors to be over $900K in value. I t old my friend her heirs have got to be pretty happy, her heirs are siblings living in TX.
I saw the average mortgage payment in the U.S. is $3500 or something now, so I can just imagine what it is in California. A realtor in Anchorage on the radio said the average rental payment for a two-bedroom apartment was $2800 in Anchorage. I don't know how people starting out can afford a house. Perhaps they can't.
They can't and if willed a house from family, the taxes are wild. I'm told to be happy with my 1029 month rent for my small 1 BR in CA...
It is not just in California, and I am sure other states have had the same housing boom in the last few years. I know that Idaho has had the same thing happen with their houses. We are probably headed for another big crash like happened before.
I have seen the same thing. I am watching many economists predict the crash of both the commercial and residential real estate markets due to inflated prices and higher interest rates. All the indicators seem to be worse than 2008 when we were told the "world economy is going to crash if we don't start printing money fast".
Clinton provided loans to people who could not actually afford them --110% so they could buy furniture in some cases. So many lost their houses and were underwater in the downturn. Lately mortgages have gone back to the traditional 20% down which cuts down on potential buyers but it would be more stabalizing in a more normal economy. With an economic upheaval, who knows. Told my kids to stay out of debt. Two of them listened.
Clinton did a lot that contributed to the current economic mess, but Bush did nothing to correct that--perhaps he couldn't as the Dems controlled Congress and it would require Congressional action. Removing the barrier between the investment banks and the commercial banks that was put into place under FDR (Glass-Steagall) was a big one. It has led to the some of the current crisis of bank failures. I think he reduced--or the Fed did under his watch--the reserve requirements. Another bad idea, but it allowed some political donors in both parties to make a lot of money.