A person earning the median salary in MA can’t afford to buy a median-priced home … as a first-time home buyer.
But if that person earning $86,840 has $200,000-$300,000 of equity in a home he bought ten years ago, then the $596,000 purchase price of the median home is not so unrealistic.
https://www.boston.com/real-estate/home-buying/2022/09/30/income-needed-afford-starter-home-boston/
According to this 2022 article, the income needed to buy the starter home is $183,000. Which is more than double the median income.
Where do first time home buyers even start? I guess the answer is “Not Massachusetts”.
You know, Obama said he would “fundamentally transform” America, and I think he did. Oh, you can trace it back further — lots of people can be blamed. But America today is different from what it was. Yes, some people really can buy that starter home. And from there, they really can trade up to a Median home. But the American Dream used to be achievable for a lot of people who just put in the work. I think it’s important for people to realize that “something changed” and that a lot of people are shut out of the dream.