If you are paying that much for a starter home, you are paying for the location. Not saying houses are cheap, but they are only that crazy in a high cost of living area. It’s not really surprising that houses are expensive in places where everything is expensive. I bought a 2 bedroom home for $175k a few years ago in a city with a population of 10k.
My sister recently moved from The large city where we both lived to South Carolina. When I visit she takes me to look at houses that I could buy for less than what I’m paying now. That’s all great for her, who works remotely and makes the same salary she made here, her husband works for the same company as me and he took a massive payout to transfer there. He made about twice what I do and now he’s making less than me for a job with more responsibilities.
If you are paying that much for a starter home, you are paying for the location. Not saying houses are cheap, but they are only that crazy in a high cost of living area. It’s not really surprising that houses are expensive in places where everything is expensive. I bought a 2 bedroom home for $175k a few years ago in a city with a population of 10k.
Jobs are in population centers, though
The problem is finding a cheap house in a place where you can also get a job. The smaller the town, the less jobs (ymmv)
My sister recently moved from The large city where we both lived to South Carolina. When I visit she takes me to look at houses that I could buy for less than what I’m paying now. That’s all great for her, who works remotely and makes the same salary she made here, her husband works for the same company as me and he took a massive payout to transfer there. He made about twice what I do and now he’s making less than me for a job with more responsibilities.