It’s a concern in many parts of the world.

ha, ha, ha....totally unexpected article. Thanks for brightening my day!

You’re welcome!

Haha Tilly Teabag!! I also like the comments in the article below it about the black hole, like the one from the Tantric Sunbather. :)

Love me some Onion!

Their horoscopes are not to be missed.

Oh, dear! Yet another crisis of significant altitude and on the rise, it smears. I do hope the petition was written on parchment paper.

Started in Madison WI where it snows in April. Makes your view of the world a bit odd, in a good way, of course.

Of course, this is satire, bringing the difficulties of young people to afford housing, to the fore.

Gave me a chuckle though! Very cleverly written! When has it ever been easy for young people to buy a home.....

Not easy, unless they were born with a silver spoon. Very hard now, though. Living near where the jobs are, is very expensive.

Yes, well I’m guessing it was probably even harder for our parents so very many years ago. I don’t think my grandparents ever owned their own home and I know how hard and frugal my parents were to buy their first home. Im not saying young people today don’t work hard but I’m not sure most are as frugal as their grandparents were!

I think it might depend on which city they are in? For example tech jobs are popular, but housing is very expensive in those cities.

That’s true but salaries are higher in those areas also. That’s not to say buying a home at inflated prices is easy though. Everything is relative. A large salary in a high cost of living area may not afford one the best quality lifestyle! It’s sometimes more beneficial to live somewhere else!

How about the service providers that also live in those cities, the trash collectors, retail workers, the teachers, nurses, etc?

I think if you look at the average salaries for teachers in different parts of this country you find a big difference. That doesn’t tell the whole story though. I do believe that higher salary in areas such as Seattle may not afford you a better lifestyle as the lower salary in a smaller city in Texas. The cost of living factors being what they are in those two very different areas! The same with a place such as NYC and maybe Tampa,Fla. one just needs to weigh all the factors when deciding we’re to live!

So I guess if you live in Seattle were the housing is around $600. A sq. Ft. Your dollars don’t get you too far. On the other hand; your smaller salary in Waco Tex. Were the homes are around $105. A square ft. Gets you a house a lot sooner!

I see you did your research, Lyn! I bet you did well at college. Still, I read comments on other sites from young people who are even giving up having children because of the high rents/price of housing. They are still trying to pay back expensive college degrees.

I’m just old Tilly!

Not true, Lyn. You’re just wise.

HaaHaa! Well I did pay back my student loans;)!

Pay down your debt first, that’s what they say isn’t it.

Thank goodness our dirt poor ancestors didn’t give up on having children because they couldn’t buy a house or get a new car;)! Sorry but me thinks these are first world problems!

Most people have no idea how much they are really paying for a mortgage. I don't know if the Consumer Protection Board is helping with this, but few people know the real cost of interest on a loan. For example, on a 30 year mortgage at 5.3%, the total interest will equal the principle. In other words, you will pay $300,000 for that $150,000 house.

It’s interesting to note that the interest rates in the early 1980’s peaked to over 18%! We have been enjoying a long stretch of low interest rates ; hoping it lasts as that does help with buying a home. Having a healthy downstroke Healy’s too;)!

I meant Helps too!

I have lived in Seattle Area my whole life, owned 4 homes, parents here worry that their kids will ever beable to afford a starter home, I have suggested that my kid move to someplace like TX, but that didn't go anywhere. I am on Houzz alot and this is the first time I have seen a post about this big problem.

There are 2 ways to save big money on your mortgage:

First, refinance when rates go down.I started with a 30 yr 6.0% in 1993; five and a half years later, I refinanced to a 30 yr 4.75%. Three years nine months later, I refinanced to a 15 yr 2.5%. The original loan would have cost $210,000 in interest. The refinancing will save me $100,000.

The other technique is to prepay by making higher payments each month. Most banks allow this and it makes a surprising difference. Paying an extra $100 per month on a $100,000 30 yr at 5.3% can take 3.5 years off the length and save $33,000 in interest.

In either case, if you sell the remaining principle to pay off will be lower. With the elimination of the mortgage interest deductions, this is more important than ever.

It’s hard for kids to get the initial deposit together too, when they are paying high rent and paying down student loans.

It's the same here in the UK ...first time buyers having a hell of a problem getting on the housing ladder ..lot of youngsters have gone back home so the can save up for a deposit.. or to the bank of mum and dad ..A lot of new housing estates are being built and have to have so called affordable housing built in them as well .... but you still need a sizeable deposit for them ...I was lucky I inherited my house ..I certainly couldn't afford to buy were I am in the west country and now it's been voted the best place to live in the south west ..prices will only go up ..Thank you Sunday Times ! ! Also we have a lot of second homes here in the west country which are left empty most of the year or developers building McMansion type housing to sell to the rich ..so kids are moving out of the area and a way from family just to try to afford a house !

I too remember those 18% and in some sections of the country higher. There are things that compete with the "Don't plan on your first home being the same as what your parents have." Which should be what parents are telling their children rather than "of course you can afford it I will help". People are unwilling to lower what they think of as their standard of living to be able to purchase a house. Few neighborhoods that have less expensive housing would considered to be safe when listening to the news although most crime in acquaintance crime and not random. Houses in those neighborhoods are being flipped by inexperienced people using the wrong materials and techniques. They quickly become money pits.

We live now with people thinking they have to have $1k phones with $350 phone and cable bills monthly. Then there are all the must have luxuries such as BMW's and Rolex's.

Sometimes I am just shocked when I hear people say they are struggling and they have a $1800 a month lease for a BMW.

Older generations did not have these high monthly expenditures such as the credit bills to pay for all of this. I bet the average 20 something pays about a $1k a month easily for stuff that could be eliminated. If you compare inflation prices the majority of the issue is the lifestyle people live today. When your parents bought a piece of furniture it was for life. People accepted their social status and live the best they could within it. Now everyone is just FAKE!

That said in certain parts of the country it is impossible for younger people to get a home. In SOCAL you need a $250k deposit to even start looking. Flippers and greedy realtors have made home buying a business and big corporation now own so much of neighborhoods they control pricing. It is not uncommon for these Co to own 50 to 100 homes in your area without you even knowing. You will never get that great deal from your older neighbor as they don't exist.

True about older neighborhoods for California but there is a whole lot of the US that is not California. I was curious the other day and looked at our old house that cost my husband $19,000 in 1978. He sold it for $16,000 in 1993. Currently a HUD owned home on the market for $27,000. Most of the bungalows in that neighborhood are in the $30-$50K range. Three blocks north are older mansions that are in the upper hundreds to over a million. Going rate in my neighborhood is $150-$280 depending on what is needed. Lots of older people going to nursing homes whose families simply want to get rid of the place. Few moving out of California will earn as much as they do living on the West Coast but there are still affordable housing in this country if young people would be willing to do without all of the modern conveniences and lower their standard of living for a few years.