News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Why can't today's young adults leave the nest? Blame high... by kelseyfrog on Friday January 12, 2024 @04:22PM (#38974291)
If you chart Case-Shiller housing price index vs median income over time[1] you can start to see that housing as a proportion of income has increased. Versus the 1960s and 70s, housing costs today are twice the proportion of income they used to be.

In other words, all other things being equal, someone today is being asked to sacrifice twice as much with respect to housing.

If the goal is to get young people into houses, that line needs to go down substantially. That's much easier said than done when many people's wealth depends on that line being high.

1. https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-median-annual-inco...

Re:Why can't today's young adults leave the nest? Blame high... by orwin on Friday January 12, 2024 @06:46PM (#38975726)
> all other things being equal

That is the case in countries with both access to cheap food and free education: i've heard that Berkeley used to cost 100$/year in the 70s.

Also medical care costs are balooning everywhere (even where it's socialized). I'm not talking about huge cost you can read about US healthcare: when you're young, you will probably be lucky enough to avoid needing critical healthcare, but the price to do regular checkup and preventive care is higher than it was, everywhere in the world. That will have a cost on everybody in the near future imho.

Re:Why can't today's young adults leave the nest? Blame high... by HPsquared on Friday January 12, 2024 @09:34PM (#38976804)
The sale price isn't the full story though, as interest rates were much higher when the prices were super low. The relevant thing is monthly cost (mortgage payment or rent) over hourly (post-tax) wage.
Re:Why can't today's young adults leave the nest? Blame high... by kelseyfrog on Friday January 12, 2024 @10:29PM (#38977075)
Please post this as a chart or supply the data. It would be great to have a more accurate picture of what's happening.