Prices?

[five9dak]

Car prices aren't up, the dollar is down. Get used to it unfortunately.

Sponsored

 

[The Last Cowboy]

My house is triple what I bought it for 10 years ago. My pickup is worth 90% of what I paid for it 7 years ago. My Jeep is worth more than I paid for it 2 years ago. My pay remains pretty much the same, yet my buying power has been reduced by 15% over the past 2 years according to the government, much more according to real life.

If I sell the property and the vehicles, there is no way I could replace them with comparable or better with the money I make from the sale, so in reality, the dollar value in those things doesn't represent any more (and perhaps less) wealth than I had in the years past.

 

[Heimkehr]

I built three years ago. I could damn near double my investment now.

Makes moving out to the middle of nowhere even more attractive.

Family members live on a few acres out in the country. Not so long ago, the property might've appraised for $300K or so. Presently? Likely within spitting distance of seven figures. Rural locales are just as expensive as many other places, sometimes even more so (for reasons that exceed the scope of this thread.)

 

[OldBlue]

If I sell the property and the vehicles, there is no way I could replace them with comparable or better with the money I make from the sale, so in reality, the dollar value in those things doesn't represent any more (and perhaps less) wealth than I had in the years past.

And that's why, even though my property in the middle of nowhere, is worth twice what I paid for it 5 years ago. Can't go somewhere else without paying a boatload more for another place.

 

[Shibadog]

We’d like to downsize, but we’d wind up paying a fortune for less home. Crazy times. Son is trying to buy a house and people are actively bidding thousands (and tens of thousands) of dollars MORE than the asking price?.

 

[aldo98229]

Yeah, age has to do with it.

My neighbors kids are in their mid 20s. A couple years ago they bought a small house for $300,000; fixed it up and are now renting it. They just recently bought another house that wasn’t even listed on the MLS for $500,000, for them to live in.

There’s no way I would have had $800,000 in mortgages when I was in my 20s. That’d have been insane. But that’s what costs to own property these days,

I’m now in my late 50s; my home is almost paid for. It’s worth quite a bit of change. I’m readying myself for a few more years of work before retiring.

My outlook on life and financial priorities have definitely changed.

 

[SQTowelie]

And that's why, even though my property in the middle of nowhere, is worth twice what I paid for it 5 years ago. Can't go somewhere else without paying a boatload more for another place.

I sold the house I bought 6 years ago for 30% more than what I paid for it. That was in 2016 when it was also a big peak. I, unfortunately, had to pay a high price to move into a house in the neighborhood I wanted to. However, in less than 6 months my same house in the same neighborhood with similar features is selling for $100-200K more than what I paid. It's insane!

 

[JABCAT]

My home was built in 2006. I purchased it in 2016 from the first owners at 2.4x what they paid for it. I just had it appraised and it is now valued at 2.2x what I paid for it just 5 years ago. My first Jeep in 1994, a fully loaded and optioned out with accessories (winch, light bars, aftermarket stereo) Wrangler Sahara hard top was $24k, my ordered '22 Sahara Altitude has a sticker price of $53k. Just the way things go. Imagine buying a '63 split window Corvette in 1963 for $4-5k, and it being worth hundreds of thousands now.

 

[Sean L]

I'm just glad my rent has been stable through the past few years. Recently I checked rent on the Apartment I used to live in CA and it was more than double what I was paying in 2008.

 

[Heimkehr]

An interesting thread.

We’d like to downsize, but we’d wind up paying a fortune for less home. Crazy times. Son is trying to buy a house and people are actively bidding thousands (and tens of thousands) of dollars MORE than the asking price?.

Yep. See my example here regarding the home-selling experience of a colleague's neighbor.

My neighbors kids are in their mid 20s. A couple years ago they bought a small house for $300,000; fixed it up and are now renting it. They just recently bought another house that wasn’t even listed on the MLS for $500,000, for them to live in.

There’s no way I would have had $800,000 in mortgages when I was in my 20s. That’d have been insane. But that’s what costs to own property these days,

I have a bit of insight into the income trends that successful YouTube "content creators" can generate. Mortgages that you and I (we're not too far removed in age) might shake our heads at is just another thing for some of them.

I'm just glad my rent has been stable through the past few years. Recently I checked rent on the Apartment I used to live in CA and it was more than double what I was paying in 2008.

I do wonder about the long-term effects of when, not if, landlords really begin to raise rents in earnest, in response to ever-increasing property values, and/or reassessments that increase the property taxes that will likely be passed on to tenants. This is a double whammy for the latter, since their income likely isn't growing* in proportion, nor are they taking any direct benefit from the increase in property values.

*Arguably, just the opposite, due to the effects of now-historic inflation trends.

 

[aldo98229]

Yeah, but not everyone is a successful YouTube content creator.

 

[Sean L]

Yeah, but not everyone is a successful YouTube content creator.

Yeah, but that's just an example of how someone in their 20s could support mortgages closing on a 7 figure value.

Kinda makes me wish I had the foresight back then to start "vlogging" and I could have actually retired by now, lol.

 

[Heimkehr]

Yeah, but that's just an example of how someone in their 20s could support mortgages closing on a 7 figure value.

Kinda makes me wish I had the foresight back then to start "vlogging" and I could have actually retired by now, lol.

Exactly.

YouTube has certainly lowered entry barriers, but it has concurrently lowered the average perception and, critically, expectation of quality content. Maybe I'm biased; I cut my teeth on programs (example) that many of today's so-called content creators couldn't possibly hope to emulate. That they still get paid, sometimes quite well, for recurringly low-calorie stuff is just a representation of the times.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

I plan to find a little cabin in some place like Tennessee and just sit on the porch with the dog!

 

[Strommen95]

Well… if you don’t agree, that doesn’t take away from the truth… If it costs more to run a business, the cost will NEVER come out of the corporations pocket… it’s going to come out of yours… So yes, the burger flipper is contributing and his $$$ is still worth the $8 per hour equivalent. See how that works?

Sure, the customer is paying that. A few dollars more on a McDonald’s order isn’t “holding” anybody down though. While it doesn’t help, present inflation has little correlation with increased minimum wage.

Sponsored