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To: Ilaine who wrote (96577)	4/19/2001 7:55:50 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

cobalt, i'm thinking in terms of a single income. "family" doesn't designate how many incomes contribute. example (assume no inflation). 1. in 1973 a single family home costs $1000 and the avg wage is $500. 2. that same house sold for $1900 in 2001 but now the husband and wife work (avg wage remained flat at $500). family income calculations would say yes - even though the home rose 90% and individual wages remained flat. i'd argue that homes rose 90% relative to an apples to apples comparison of the average single person's wage. forcing one's significant other to work is a real cost. i am a little bit perplexed how many different ways the "pros" calculate "affordibility." it does get confusing. one can not look at the headline and resolve this issue (either way). the mechanics are key, and it appears there are a lot of different mechanics depending on the agenda - the real estate web site that wants to market "rosy scenario" and grandfather doomsday quotes the home buyer's association and they get a pretty dismal result for the same time period.

To: Ilaine who wrote (96577)	4/19/2001 8:23:07 PM
From: Andrew G.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Skeeter: When I spoke to my lawyer recently, he said that if he and his family had to buy today the house they now live in they wouldn't be able to afford the new mortgage. According to my local newspaper, houses in the Minneapolis area on average have jumped 15% in value but most have appreciated far more rapidly. It is now rare for a house to be on the market for more than a month. Pretty incredible panic buying. Today the top business story in the Minneapolis Startribune quotes a RE agent saying that we are getting 'suburban New York City pricing' in our metro. First time home buyers are getting nailed by 100% -200% price increases over what others in same neighborhood are paying for mortgages they got 5-10 years ago. It takes a higher income bracket just to afford living in a more modest neighborhood. A horrendous price to pay for the new generation of people out there. No other period that I can think of is comparable.