Isn't it awful!! We do have a townhouse and we have totally outgrown it and need a small single family house. They don't have any of those out here, everything is a McMansion with a jumbo mortgage. They say you should spend 25% of your income on your house - well we spend more than that and we make a decent amount for our age and that's just on a single mortgage for a townhouse. I know everyone in the SF homes in my neighborhood are NOT doctors and lawyers, so that probably means those houses are creatively financed. How do they expect people to afford these? And they wonder why the housing market is crashing? Only when people could keep taking equity out of their houses could they survive. The days of the cash-out refi are done. People need to learn to live within their means and then maybe these home builders would get a clue. We bought at the top of the market of course, and 4 years later our house is worth about what we paid for it.
So much for "moving up"
For those curious - I'm FAR western suburbs. Townhouses are $200-250. "Starter" houses are $280-$300. Most of the houses in my town are $320 and way, way up. There are 2 new subdivisions in the "low 400's" No one makes enough money to afford these and they refuse to build smaller homes. I don't want a 3000SF house. The only smaller homes are 50+ years old and need tons of work, yet cost nearly as much as the new ones!!!
Chicago's housing market isn't even based in reality. New 1 bedroom condos cost $250,000. People pay $1500/month to share a studio dorm style with a roommate. It's sickening.