[quote=FormerSanDiegan]If you want to compare minimum down, that’s fine. Let’s apply it to both situations.
2010: 3.5% down ~ 2700/month (35% or $700 premium over rent
1996: 3.5% down ~ 1520 / month (38% or 420 premium over rent)
P&I :~1150
Taxes: 170
PMI: 150
Insurance: 50
Actually, this case more resembles what we did. We paid 5% down, and our PITI + PMI was about $1450 per month.
At that time we had a dual income, working professionals a couple years out of school, one of us with a PhD in Engineering, the other working as an Architect. Clairemont is what we could afford as a starter in 1996.
The same area is more affordable today by many metrics.[/quote]
So I guess the next question is has income gone up dramatically from 1996. Mine hasn’t. Maybe it has for some people. But I want to exclude the HELOC factor and talk just straight wages. Anyone have numbers?
