What cost of a home would be affordable to you?

14 comments

1. Now? Probably in the range of 800K but thats because of how much equity I have through appreciation. House prices are a tax on newcomers. Most of the people who are living in high cost of living areas are playing with monopoly money like me.

2. Most Americans buy a home with a mortgage (home loan) which requires a 20% cash down payment. After that, the balance is payable monthly over the life of the loan, up to 30 years.
   Therefore, you have to calculate based on how much you have available for the down payment, and then use a mortgage calculator to figure out your monthly payments.
   If you can afford a $40k down payment, and the monthly loan payments, then maybe you are shopping for a $200k home, for example.
   My condo was about 400k.

3. 300k, low/no HOA, 1% or less property tax, and a mortgage rate less than 4%.

   In other words: all things that were possible to obtain three short years ago in FL.

   Yes – I am just a little bitter. Sigh.

4. 1 acre, 1800 sq ft, 1970s house that needs some work. Central PA, small town, $175k. I couldn’t afford a dime more. I honestly have 0 idea how most Americans can get a place where houses at my price point aren’t available.

5. It’s not just a question of affordability, you also think about asset allocation.

   I have a place near the beach. It’s 2BR townhouse condo. Was 220K when I bought it. It’s older but a great community. Given the way the area is developing I have thought about maybe taking my capital gains and moving to a less popular part of FL but since everything has gone up I would probably need 600K or so to get something I like better and while I could afford that I don’t want the much of my net worth in a house. Too illiquid.

6. 3.50

7. My house was bought pre-pandemic for 600K in Massachusetts. It was pretty expensive at the time but it’s 5000 sq feet and pretty swanky (and not a ugly mcmansion but an older custom home) , 5 car garage, with a few sports courts, heated pool and hot tub in an amazing pocket of old mossy woods with no neighbors behind me for about a mile. – in one of the safest places in the country. So while it felt really pricey it was an insanely cool house so it didn’t feel “overpriced” — Now supposedly it’s worth 800K. I bought my first house like 25 years ago for 100K.

   It felt really expensive a few years ago.

   I sold a really beautiful, updated split level in an amazing quiet, quiet neighbor surround by trees and water. I sold it for 280K a few years ago and now it’s worth 450K.

   280K seems like such a tiny number now! If I saw a nice house for under 300K? That would sorta feel cheap in these new post-pandemic days.

8. We paid $1.1M for our condo in San Francisco

   It was the max we could afford.

9. Just bought a 865 square foot house for $125k. It’s a good ways under budget but it’s exactly what I need.

10. Between my partner and I, $1 million, but I would never max out our budget. We probably won’t stay here in San Francisco either. I think we’ll move closer to his family on the East Coast.

    We could get a lot more bang for our buck in Missouri where I’m from and I think my parents would love to have us move there, but I remember being so unhappy growing up in that state that I don’t ever want to go back. It taught me that cost of living isn’t everything.

11. I paid $1.3 million for a house in DC and I wouldn’t want to pay more

12. I could spend at most about $350k with a mortgage. Around here, that would be plenty for a mobile home, or just barely enough for a condo.

13. About 200k-250k is reasonable for my area on local wages. Unfortunately, homes that sold at 200k a mere 4 years ago are now at 300+ and anything much less than that have serious problems.

14. $320k for 1.7 acres and a 2000 sqft home. Mortgage pays it all but it is manageable.

    Rural-ish Maine but in a great spot. If Zillow and Redfin are to be believed we have had a serious appreciation in value.