The math for buying a home no longer works, per WSJ

Biden made it illegal for millenials to own houses

Banks qualified borrowers on a standard of 33% income to house monthly payment. Nowadays, they should raise that standard to at least 45% to help borrowers qualify.

First time home buyers should be buying below their income levels. That allows them to build up equity and stay within an appropriate % of their income. Once they build up equity, buying housing appropriate to their income level becomes more attainable, and eventually may be able to buy above their income level

Also using a median basis for income and comparing it to a median basis for home ownership doesn’t make sense. That assumes everyone should be able to buy a home - which is false, tons of people have to rent or choose to rent. That also assumes that people can only buy one home, also false. Tons of people in upper income brackets buy multiple houses. It’s just a poor and lazy comparison by some blogger

A large proportion of families now have duel incomes. It seems statistics are slanted to ignore. Although one may argue that an increasing number of households require at least 2 incomes just to stay above water.

A person making the median income and purchasing a median home is either 1) a moron and 2) keeping up with the Joneses.

If it doesn't work, I don't understand why housing prices haven't dropped then. If I'm selling my house for 300K and people can only afford 200K, then how am I selling my house for 300K? The market should make me lower my house price. What am I missing?

With these prices and interest rates, I wouldn’t be able to afford my current home if i bought it today, and my income has gone up by about 30% since i bought it.

I live in a county and city comprised of mostly upper middle class families with teens and retired people (also a LOT of military families who receive some serious housing stipends). It would be impossible anywhere in that county to buy a lot big enough for a well and septic tank, or one on county utilities, and build a modest home on it....the dirt is too damned expensive. It is too damned expensive in part due to demand but it also is a function of zoning that requires massive lots and restrictive covenants, allowed by zoning, which increase the costs of anything built in the county. About 95% of the development in the county in the last 20 years has consisted of tract house development with 4000 square foot, 5 bedroom 4 bath houses on 1/10th acre lots. A 1/4 acre lot is huge and a 1/2 acre lot looks like an estate. Those houses are selling for around $450K. Most of them have 3-5 people living in them. Those houses are what is required to make building lucrative enough to be worthwhile because of zoning and building codes that have nothing at all to do with owner safety and everything to do with keeping real estate prices as high as possible. There have been some proposals to build smaller houses, even condos and other attached residences...almost all BUT luxury condos have ever been approved. There is a market for smaller, less expensive moderate houses in the US and they can be built...but the margins are not attractive to developers and bankers and they control the market. This county is not unique, almost all of any area in the country close to jobs and services is identical. There is no way a family of 4 needs 4000 square feet of 5 br 4 bath house...but thats what is being built.

It says "individual" income but that sure looks like median household income.

1. Marry a doctor's daughter
2. Get Paw in law to put down payment on house
3. ????
4. Profit/ Have house