I'm on vacation right now for my in-laws' family reunion, and we've been driving around visiting family through a couple different states. I'm currently sitting in a two story house with multiple balconies on 5 acres of land.
Every single house we've been to feels like the lap of luxury. I'm not just talking those on the countryside. Two story homes. Homes with real wood and carpet instead of vinyl. Homes with a backyard and a front yard. Brick or stone walls and fireplaces. Tile roofing instead of blacktop.
My husband and I have been discussing our options with buying a house because I happened to connect with someone who wants to sell theirs. It would be on the cheaper end of homes even in this market. 300-325k in a 400-450k market, but we can't even afford it. We can't even afford the mortgage loan to get it.
I feel like my husband and I do pretty well for ourselves. We're pretty high above the poverty line. He makes $21/hr and I'm making $17/hr. I've never felt the need to scrounge and save just to get by, so I've always been extremely blessed by our circumstances. God knows a lot of people are in a much rougher spot than we are. I try to be grateful.
But I can't help but be disheartened by seeing the kinds of houses people were able to afford back then and hearing stories of how cheap things used to be compared to their income. I can't help but be jealous knowing that his grandma is living 100% off of social security and investments they made when houses costed a dime and a half. I look down the road ahead of me and i can't even see retirement as an option.
I don't want to live in an apartment forever. I don't want to have to ask my in-laws for money just to afford my own home. Some of these people don't even know how good they have it. They're moving because the house is “too big.” They're giving away furniture instead of selling it. They're discussing all the extensions they want to build like they have all the money in the world and I'm stuck here thinking “I wish.”
Will the market crash soon? Is there some secret formula everyone knew back then that they just refuse to tell me now? Am I doomed to rent out an apartment until my two little babies are old enough to move out? Will they be doomed as well?