The US housing market has changed dramatically since the pandemic - an issue looming over the election.

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The median home sale price in the US has jumped by nearly 30% since the end of 2019, hitting $420,000 this spring.

At a time of rising property values globally, the leap has been one of the most dramatic in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

And that’s not factoring in the added costs from higher interest rates, which now stand at roughly 7% for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that is typical in the US, up from about 3% in 2020.

Homebuyers today need an annual income of more than $100,000 - well above the country’s household median of about $75,000 - to comfortably afford a home in most places in the US, research firms such as Zillow and Bankrate say, and face monthly payments that have roughly doubled in just four years.

  • @Got_Bent
    11•7 months ago

    My visit to my daughter’s apartment did concern me in that I saw not one but two Scrabble sets on her shelf.

    And she doesn’t have means to make coffee. That part will get immediately remedied.

    But seriously, she and I are quite close. I was telling her that my biggest concern going forward is living alone and going full blown dementia as I failed in securing long term care.

    I also told her to never, under any circumstances, sign anything remotely related to my healthcare because the fine print will make her assume financial responsibility. Fuck that. Dump my withering winkled ass in a storm drain before I let that happen.