The headline locally and nationally is that we are in an “affordability crisis.”
Regarding housing, the narrative is mostly false. I have been a mortgage broker in Montana since 2006. I am helping young people buy homes in this market (so are many other loan officers, not just me) … I see one common theme. Financial literacy and competency is lacking. Young people that understand and competently manage their finances are able to buy a home in this market, at these prices, with these interest rates. Last year I sampled a home that two McDonald’s employees earning $17 an hour full time could afford to buy. The key is their priorities with their funds and their expectations.
Those waiting for a government solution to this problem will be sorely disappointed in the coming years. Those who get themselves ready and get ahead of their peers will pass the other’s waiting for the government solution by (substantially) and those who buy homes quicker will also become future landlords.
Learn the fundamentals, then prepare yourself to buy, then purchase a home. The sooner you do it, the wealthier you will become.
David Boye
Whtiefish