Cost of Living

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My friend, Lefty, has an excellent article out on Cost of Living. You should read it. He moved to his current residence in 1999. I moved into my current residence in 2002. Of note, we live in the same neighborhood. This will be important here. 

I remember well when we bought the house. Our household income was about $55k, and the house price was $133k. That means it was a 242% House to income ratio. 

At the time, we had been living in an apartment, the rent for which was $769 per month. Rent was 16.8% of our income. 

Also, at the time, the median household income in Tennessee was $37K. So we were at 148% of the median. 

Today, the median household income in Tennessee is $67K. So, if someone were at 148% of that, it would be an income of $99k. Six figures is not what it used to be. 

Currently, houses in our neighborhood are selling for $450K on average. Of course, when I write "on average," it literally means it is an average - sum them all up, then divide by number of transactions. Necessarily, there will be a number of transactions that are more than that, and a number that are less than that. It is a shame that this must be written: but the smooth-brains out there, when they see an average, will immediately go into mental shock as they know of a singular exception. As if that means anything at all. And they MUST tell you about it. As if that bears some significance. 

With an average house cost of $450K, for a family to have that same 242% ratio we had all those years ago, they must have a household income of $186K. God is good to me, but I am NOT making $186K. $186K in Tennessee puts you in the top 10% of wage earners. Our neighborhood is NOT a top 10% neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination. 

Using the numbers for rent - a $99K household income, at 16.8% - rents should be about $1386 per month. A quick web search showed rents at that same apartment complex as being over $2000 per month currently. 

I am not sure how my kids are supposed to afford to rent, much less buy a house. Thanks, Joe. 

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