<story><title>Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator</title><url>https://shouldigetahouse.com/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>JMTQp8lwXL</author><text>If you had a significant other with a similar upper middle class wage, e.g., $220k * 2 = $440k you could probably swing it with more breathing room. You are wise to avoid the burden, in the chance you technically qualify for the mortgage but barely so in the Bay Area (e.g., leaving you house poor). The fact that home affordability requires a HH income in the top 2-3% is, to put it mildly, highly concerning.&lt;p&gt;It makes the trend of many millennials not trying (a bit of nihilism) seem reasonable. Why aspire for great career success and an above median income, when you can&amp;#x27;t get much for it? A better life, at that point, is likely to optimize for cheap hobbies and leave the high-pay work stress behind. Honestly, it sounds like a fairly rational decision.</text></item><item><author>hnhousingthrow</author><text>These calculators don&amp;#x27;t reflect the reality&amp;#x2F;absurdity of the current economy. Anecdotal, but I bought a house in eastern California last year for $600k, now Zillow says it&amp;#x27;s worth $835k. Also, I&amp;#x27;ll unlikely ever be able to afford a house in the Bay Area, even though I make $220k&amp;#x2F;year at a company there. Still don&amp;#x27;t know what I&amp;#x27;ll do if my employer makes us return to the SF office in a few months. Relatedly, a ~70 year old woman bagged my groceries today and I doubt she&amp;#x27;s doing it for fun. Seems the accelerating wealth inequality is destroying our society&amp;#x2F;communities if it hasn&amp;#x27;t already.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>fragmede</author><text>The nihilism doesn&amp;#x27;t make sense from someone making $200k&amp;#x2F;yr though. If you&amp;#x27;re in a career with little advancement and making minimum wage then yeah sure, but if you write software at a FAANG, then  lets back of the envelope for a second.&lt;p&gt;$200k is like 130k take home pay after taxes, (which is just shy of $11k&amp;#x2F;month). 20% down on a million dollar house is 200k. If you&amp;#x27;re able to put $4k&amp;#x2F;month towards a future down payment, that&amp;#x27;s 50 months, or just over 4 years. If you were  making  that when you are 30 years old, if nothing changes from then (which it won&amp;#x27;t), you can buy a million dollar house before you&amp;#x27;re 35.&lt;p&gt;If you put it into stocks instead of holding it liquid for those 4 years, then before long term cap gains tax (California and Federal), then you&amp;#x27;ll need closer to $300k. Which still seems like it should be doable before you&amp;#x27;re 40. (If you bought AAPL at the height of the 2008 bubble, you&amp;#x27;d be doing quite well today.)&lt;p&gt;Does it seem reasonable to me that housing is &lt;i&gt;this&lt;/i&gt; expensive in the Bay area? No! Does it seem feasible for someone who&amp;#x27;s software development career is going well, to be able to afford a house, eventually, if they make that a priority? Quite.&lt;p&gt;There are many directions someone making $200k&amp;#x2F;yr at 30 can choose to go with their money, and I don&amp;#x27;t begrudge anyone the agency to make their own decisions. But let&amp;#x27;s not say that someone making those kinds of wages &lt;i&gt;can&amp;#x27;t&lt;/i&gt; afford a house. They may prefer to use DoorDash for every meal and extravagant vacations instead of buying a home, but people who make less money are forced to make much tougher, more existential choices on how to spend their money.</text></comment>
<story><title>Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator</title><url>https://shouldigetahouse.com/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>JMTQp8lwXL</author><text>If you had a significant other with a similar upper middle class wage, e.g., $220k * 2 = $440k you could probably swing it with more breathing room. You are wise to avoid the burden, in the chance you technically qualify for the mortgage but barely so in the Bay Area (e.g., leaving you house poor). The fact that home affordability requires a HH income in the top 2-3% is, to put it mildly, highly concerning.&lt;p&gt;It makes the trend of many millennials not trying (a bit of nihilism) seem reasonable. Why aspire for great career success and an above median income, when you can&amp;#x27;t get much for it? A better life, at that point, is likely to optimize for cheap hobbies and leave the high-pay work stress behind. Honestly, it sounds like a fairly rational decision.</text></item><item><author>hnhousingthrow</author><text>These calculators don&amp;#x27;t reflect the reality&amp;#x2F;absurdity of the current economy. Anecdotal, but I bought a house in eastern California last year for $600k, now Zillow says it&amp;#x27;s worth $835k. Also, I&amp;#x27;ll unlikely ever be able to afford a house in the Bay Area, even though I make $220k&amp;#x2F;year at a company there. Still don&amp;#x27;t know what I&amp;#x27;ll do if my employer makes us return to the SF office in a few months. Relatedly, a ~70 year old woman bagged my groceries today and I doubt she&amp;#x27;s doing it for fun. Seems the accelerating wealth inequality is destroying our society&amp;#x2F;communities if it hasn&amp;#x27;t already.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>refurb</author><text>Nothing says you have to buy a house and settle long term in the Bay Area.&lt;p&gt;I’ve know people who get a rent controlled place, work 10 years, sock away $1M+ in savings, then go somewhere cheaper with good schools to have a family.&lt;p&gt;Being able to put away $1M+ in savings by the time your in your early 30’s is huge.</text></comment>