Subsidized Housing For Those Earning $160,000

[jeffrey]

Interesting article in the LA Times:

<i>Now, "it's hard to get sympathy for people making $160,000 a year if you're down in Texas or something," said Bill Watkins, head of the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project. Any household with that kind of money is in the nosebleed section of American earners, and "most of the country would think, 'You're going to subsidize that person's house? You're kidding me.' "</i>

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vacant14aug14,0,4718535.story?coll=la-home-headlines" rel="nofollow">Santa Barbara OKs Housing Aid for Folks Making Up to $160,000 a Year</a>

[rob62521]

Wow! When I started reading I was outraged. Now I don't know what to think. I realize the cost of living is higher, but... I feel incredibly poor. Bet I won't get my housing subsidized!

[DivaJen]

I live near Santa Barbara. My city doesn't have their median, but I think the median in June of this year was almost $700,000. How do two middle class people buy a home when the prices soar like that? DH and I were two teachers when we bought our home 9 years ago, before the market went absolutely nuts. At the time, we were stretched as far as we could go, and today we don't make a whole lot more we did back then. DH's company has a hard time attracting the best cnadidates when the pay is OK but not great and housing is out of control. How does a city hold on to good teachers, nurses, fire fighters, police officers with costs like that?

This article is a good eye-opener for folks who can't understand why people aren't living a "good life" on $60,000 a year. There really are parts of the country where $60,000 isn't much at all compared to the cost of living.

In a city where the median home price is over $1 million, a planned condo project's units will be priced below market from $495,000 to $595,000. Teachers, nurses, police are among the expected buyers.

Condos for that price - at this point anything at $500K feels like a steal. I saw a house advertised as "under $500K" - that was the selling point.

[greedy4chips]

All I can say is you are right about how does a community keep good teachers, nurses, police officers, etc when home prices are so out of whack. Whats more out of whack is the people who live in a state like mine where $160,000/ year would buy you one of the best homes around take a look here...
http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/Home...ealtor&x=9&y=9

Now try selling a house here and moving to California...can't hardly be done either.

[Ima saver]

Guess I will stay in the south, no california for me!

[ummabdullah]

Its about time the goverment started thinking about the middle class too.. after all its the middle class sector that keeps countries running. Teachers, police officers, nurses and doctors are all undervalued. Its too bad all the big heads in office are not making any headway to resolve the financial crisis most people are in at the moment.. (those not in debt).

[rob62521]

I am shocked at the housing market, even around here. Our local economy isn't doing very well, but people are building and buying homes in the $300-500K range. I truly can't figure out how they are paying for them, unless they really don't. I make decent money, but I don't think I would want the biggest share of our salaries to go for a big house that you have to heat, cook, water, and furnish! I'll keep my little ranch house that's paid for!

[PauletteGoddard]

Its about time the goverment started thinking about the middle class too.. after all its the middle class sector that keeps countries running. Teachers, police officers, nurses and doctors are all undervalued. Its too bad all the big heads in office are not making any headway to resolve the financial crisis most people are in at the moment..

I believe the government plans to eradicate the middle class. This is done by enlarging the government by adding extra departments, extending its powers by pre-empting states' rights, and taking more money from the middle class to pay for its own aggrandisement as it borrows from Social Security.

The lower class doesn't have the money, the top 5% would get snippy and confused ("I thought the government was to let us keep more of our money!") and might retaliate by not funding congresscritters' and senators' re-election campaigns, so monetarily the middle class is the whipping boy. Apparently Americans like the financial challenge of big government and squeezed financial situations.

It's weird though that 90% of America thinks itself middle class, but votes in people who want to make them poor. For instance, house affordability in my state has shrunk since 1960. My state legislature wants to relax and loosen lending standards so more people can buy houses with non-prime lending, exotic loans, extended mortgages.

Meanwhile in areas where the housing bubble is in an advanced state of deflation people are defaulting on their loans and suffering foreclosures. But big deal, as long as realtors and banks get their money, right? Delayed gratification and frugality are perceived as unAmerican because, if widely adopted by citizens, these may have adverse effects on the quarterly earnings of publicly traded financial and housing companies, who might otherwise not have the money to cough up for political campaigns or lobbying. And legislators aren't likely to stay in office if their ideas of what would benefit their constituents differ from their constituents' ideas.

Judging by the house prices nowadays, and the legislation passed by their elected representatives, I was thinking Americans were loaded loaded loaded.

[rob62521]

I guess being a member of the middle class, it's scary to think they are trying to get rid of us. I certainly don't fit the bill for the rich.

[Roupey03]

Man am I glad I live in Ohio.

[ummabdullah]

Any suggestions on making it to the top? So we don't get stuck in middleclass??

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by Roupey03

Man am I glad I live in Ohio.

LOL - until people getting priced out in CA start moving to WI, OH, etc.

[PauletteGoddard]

LOL - until people getting priced out in CA start moving to WI, OH, etc.

We've taken to calling the Californians trading their $500,000 dump houses for our McMansions "equity locusts." Although, to be very fair, the three Californian retirees I know moved up to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by PauletteGoddard

We've taken to calling the Californians trading their $500,000 dump houses for our McMansions "equity locusts." Although, to be very fair, the three Californian retirees I know moved up to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

LOL - that's a good one!

[Crystallas]

Sure, they want to do this, but not fix the problems with home value inflation that put people into these situations to begin with.

[LuckyRobin]

I know that the high prices of California homes are a large part of what is driving the housing boom in my county here in Washington state. They sell their $500,000 to $1.2 million dollar homes and think nothing of coming up here for retirement and dumping $300,000 on a house that has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a huge yard. And think even less of a dropping $500,000 on a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 3 car and 1 RV garage house with a mid-sized yard. In fact they think it is a bargain! Just ten years ago the former house would have sold for $100,000 here and the latter house wouldn't even have been built here! I would hate to be living in the city and trying to buy now. We were lucky when we bought on the outskirts of our county and got a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 story shed (no garage), green house, and nice yard for $69,000. You don't even want to know how much the value of our home has increased in 8 years. And that's even after tearing down the pretty but unstructurally sound greenhouse. And we are 25 miles from the city. My dream of ever moving back to the city, where I was born and raised, is pretty much a goner, though.

I hope I don't come across as bashing Californian's because most of the one's I have met are very nice people. They just inhabited a far different money universe than I ever have.

[ummabdullah]

I don't really understand why prices are so high in california? I was raised there and well it just doesn't make sense. Only the most wealthy of my friends ever had parents who made enough money to afford property at the current prices. I know a good many people who live in trailers because they can't afford anything else..

[poundwise]

Here's the solution.

If you earn $160,000... don't live in Santa Barbara.

Simple.

[Lori63]

I have an uncle who was a builder in Ventura County, and he told me my little ole house in Virginia would be over $1 million there.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by poundwise

Here's the solution.

If you earn $160,000... don't live in Santa Barbara.

Simple.

And therein leads to another problem - where do the people who make a middle class income live if they work in SB? Should teachers, etc. be commuting over an hour just so they can afford a home and work in SB? It isn't simple. If DH and I were both still teaching we would be at $80-$90k, combined. Hardly $160k.

And then of course there are the low wage earners. Where do they go? Is it acceptable for them to cram multiple families in a two-bedroom home or apartment?

I don't have the answers, but I suspect if it was a simple solution the problem wouldn't exist.