Here's my thinking: If a mid 6-figure income guy like me is having trouble finding a decent house with a decent size (2000 sqft) in a decent neighborhood, SOMETHING IS FREAKING WRONG HERE in this out of control RE market~~!! The SD RE market is still way overpriced!

 

Frankly, I can't think of many people who's first home purchased anytime was was 2000sqft SFH in a prime location. Almost all started out either

(1) in something more affordable townhome in a better location or

(2) a SFH that was more affordable at a further distance away

unless they

(3) had dual incomes to support it or

(4) was sitting on a bunch of stock options from a lucky windfall or

(5) inherited money or had financing from Relative/Parents Inc

You can probably afford a "home", the question is how much home and where. It might be a stretch for most to think they can land in a 2000sqft SFH home as their first home in a prime location imho.

There is a small handful of single folks who probably does considerably better financially then the rest of us who could probably jump into a SFH in a prime location off the bat. But I think for the rest of us, we're just average people that make an average income that need to initially make some compromises to get started.

Not advocating people go buy homes right now. But just as realtors always say it's always a good time to buy a home, I have a corollary. …It feels like it's never a good time to buy a home.

If you're talking about a primary home, it's pretty good you can think about it purely in economic terms. Many people (inclusive) have a primary home fetish, and buy not necessarily making the most economic sense. (though some of us just do a slightly better job doing damage control of our home fetishes than others 🙂