Everyone’s buying a house!
Well okay, maybe not everyone, but the housing craze doesn’t seem to be tapering off anytime soon. I just found out today my friend Carl, who runs whatweate.com just bought a house and is throwing a warming party in a few weekends. Then there’s Mitch, who not only bought a house but a yellow scooter to boot. There’s also Jeff, who is shopping around his new neighborhood, and I’m taking a guess that my friend Andreas will be shopping around soon as well. Is this a generational thing — where it now feels like everyone around me is also getting married — or does the housing market in the U.S. still have that much juice left? Boy do I miss the states :(
Update: Add one more to that list — my friend Jess has bought a place as well. Anybody else?!
September 2nd, 2003 at 1:05 pm
I know a bunch of people who are buying too. Many of them are older, in their late 20s or early 30s, but they’re doing it nonetheless.
Also, it’s a sensible thing to do for grad school because you don’t lose the money to rent. You just stash it in a home that you’ll sell when you leave. This assumes, of course, that you have enough money to affor such a thing. Which brings up the whole observation of how much harder it is to escape poverty when you don’t have anything to work with. Almost all money saving/profit tricks require that you have money to begin with! Now to convince those across the river in that big white building of that…
September 2nd, 2003 at 4:58 pm
Well, that’s a common perception — the thought that if you own the house, your rent isn’t “lost”. But I would argue there are *numerous* other expenses in owning a house that as a renter, you don’t have to consider, and that as a college student, I would much rather not worry or deal with. From all kinds of insurance to every Murphy’s law advocate — disfunctional plumbing, leaky roofs, whatever. I suppose Home Depot, Leows, and the Internet help one feel more confident in saving and doing it yourself, but there’s only so much time when you’re doctoral student. Really the only thing in favor of buying a house is a forcasted rise in the market, unless of course one plans to live there for an indefinite period for which rental payments would outpay the house.
September 2nd, 2003 at 11:39 pm
I must say, I am honored to get mentioned in the illustrious blogworld. But think about this, even as you’re spending money on the house it’s one of the only purchases you can make that continues to go up in value! Yippie. By the way, I crashed my scooter though luckily I only broke the front headlight, and I am relatively unscathed. (Rather than a crash I would more call it a falling over….)
September 2nd, 2003 at 11:53 pm
Mitch, glad you could venture out to this side of the world :) What, may I ask, caused your fall? A hot chick? haha. In regards to your house-purchase comment, all I have to say is read up on Japan’s economy covering the past decade. Your optimism is what we had over here 10 years ago. The only problem is, there are times when things must fall, and once they do…erg!