Young Professional- Wishful Homeowner
I am a young professional with a master's degree. Working for the government I knew I would not ever earn the top dollar. I did always plan on buying my own place though. That seems less and less likely as prices continue to rise. Some of that seems related to the effect of Covid on the supply chain, but also a lot of it is lack of supply for the demand, the ever increasing cost of skilled labor and materials. and increasing limitations of government regulation. I actually took a Housing Affordability Lab class at the University of Utah where we were talked with many experts in the housing market. They all expressed that this is different than before the recession in 2008. The challenge this time is trying to find solutions that allow for people to buy homes.
Recently, the place where I am living with three other young professional women, told us they are selling the townhome and we need to move by the end of May. So I started looking at potentially buying or continuing to rent. Trying to buy seems completely out of the question, but even rental prices are going way up from what they were even a year ago.
Housing affordability may just well be one of the biggest problems of our time. It is a universal problem that also affects individuals and families in personal and significant ways. A place to live is a basic need that can cause huge amounts of stress. I want to hear all of your experiences with this challenge too.