Yes, The American Dream Is Still Alive. Heres How To Buy A House In This Market.

Published

3 months ago

June 21, 2024

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Not that it needs saying, but the economy is still a mess. Inflation is high, the value of a dollar isnt what it used to be, and interest rates are insane. At the same time, most salaries are not increasing, the job market is terrible, and people are struggling to find work. This combination makes it seem as though its not at all possible to buy a home. But is it actually impossible?

Boomers often look at young people and say, Well, interest rates were even higher in my day, and I still managed to buy a home. The difference is, salaries increased along with the prices of homes. In 2024, that has not happened. As a result, young people are priced out of the market, especially if they are living in metropolitan areas. However, I believe there is a solution to this bad combination of economic woes.

Conversations about starter homes go viral on X all the time. All it takes is one person tweeting something like this, judging people for skipping over starter homes and buying houses that are too expensive, contributing to their own financial demise.

Screenshot: X

To be fair, hes correct. Expectations should be in check based on where you live and what your salary is. But I do not think this is why people are failing financially, nor do I think he has any idea how much a starter home in 2024 actually is. In most relatively metropolitan areas where people are working and commuting to and from, starter homes start at around $300,000. The replies argued as much:

Screenshot: X

Now, we have probably all heard the stop buying avocado toast argument. When I was in college, my mom would tell me that if I wanted to buy a house someday, I couldnt spend all my money on Starbucks. I have a love-hate relationship with this statement. On the love side, it is true smaller purchases add up. Spending $50 a day on random things here and there ends up being $18,000 at the end of the year. However, on the hate side, I think these types of statements trivialize the actual problem at stake, which is that low salaries, high interest rates, and high prices all around make it near impossible to save for a down payment or be able to make a mortgage payment.

Another solution people commonly pose is to live in the middle of nowhere, so you can buy a five-bedroom house for $200,000. While this is true in some parts of the country, many people cannot make this proposed solution work logistically. Although they might be able to afford the house, they might not be able to pull off living in the middle of nowhere because there are no job opportunities, plus schools and grocery stores are 45 minutes away. So, this suggestion just ends up being counterproductive and unhelpful, which some tweets, like this one, are quick to point out:

Screenshot: X

The issue of not being able to afford a house is not just relegated to Gen Z. Wall Street Silver went so far as to question if we even have a middle class, tweeting that homeownership is no longer a staple of the middle-class American Dream.

Screenshot: X

This should not be the case. People should not just shrug it off, saying, Oh, well, thats just life in 2024. And people should not be stuck in this cycle. So, what is the solution? First, we need to vote accordingly. But until we can do that and until circumstances hopefully change, there are steps you can take. This is not a hopeless situation if you truly want to buy a home.

In Nashville, for example, there are very few homes for sale at or around $300,000, and the ones that are at that price point are not in the safest of areas and they would require a fair amount of renovating. So while you might save money on a down payment, you would spend a pretty penny renovating the entire house. Plus, these homes arent even in Nashville proper. You would still be looking at a 20- to 30-minute commute.

That means, if you want a house in Nashville, you have to change your expectations. Since you would already be driving at least 20 minutes from an unsafe, not move-in ready home if you bought at $300,000, could you, instead, add an extra 10 minutes to that drive? If you want to own a home, are you willing to sacrifice a shorter drive for a longer one? If so, you could afford a starter home that is clean, move-in ready, and in a safe area. WATCH: The Comments Section with Brett Cooper

I know this is possible because I know people who have done it and I am one of them. The farm my husband and I just bought would have never been in our budget had we lived within 20 minutes of work. So, I spend two hours in the car every single day because that is the house I want to go home to, it is the lifestyle I want to have, and it is the place I want to raise our future children. My producer and her husband similarly worked through this decision a couple months ago, and they bought the cutest historical home outside Nashville where they are actually saving on their mortgage, compared to the rent they had been paying. Which is rare in 2024.

All of this to say, buying an affordable home is possible. All the posts and articles that claim the American Dream of owning a home is completely dead just arent true. It might be harder, but it is still possible.

You can buy a house, but you must figure out what your priorities are. If you are willing to make some sacrifices, like driving longer to work, its entirely possible. If, however, you dont want to commute, that is ok, and while the market is truly terrible, renting can still be a mostly affordable option.

The point is, you have to decide what you value and what is most important to you. You must choose where you are going to put your money. That may be different than everyone else around you and that is ok.

For plenty of people, buying a home isnt the most important next move and they choose to prioritize other things. For example, after college, my husband moved to New York City for five years where he made incredible connections and created an invaluable network for his career. Instead of buying a house at 23 with a stupidly low interest rate, he chose to move and the return on his career investment was significant. But still, he knew NYC was not where he wanted to be long term, so when those five years lapsed, he reprioritized, moved to Nashville, bought a starter home, met me, and the rest is history.

Now, I do not give these examples to trivialize this problem because there is no getting around the fact the American middle class is disappearing, which has never been the case before. I share these anecdotes to hopefully provide a feeling of empowerment and a reality that there are other options. Life is not as black and white as it may seem on X.

I wish everyone could just buy whatever house they want, but thats not how the world works. Its true that life isnt fair and it never has been. But if you are honest with yourself about what you really value, youll be able to prioritize to make life more of what you want. Then, all it takes is some creative, unconventional thinking in determining and realizing there is a way to your goals.

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Note: This article has been edited for clarity.

Business

Labour lures BlackRock chief Fink to flagship investment summit

Published

55 mins ago

September 21, 2024

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Labour lures BlackRock chief Fink to flagship investment summit

The boss of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, will attend the new government’s flagship investment summit next month amid suggestions it is struggling to attract large numbers of high-calibre international business figures.

Sky News has learnt that Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and chief executive, will attend the 14 October gathering, which will be held at a prominent central London venue.

Mr Fink, who was also present at a similar event organised by the Conservatives in 2021, will be among the most influential global bosses to attend.

Among the others who have agreed to come are Margherita della Valle, the Vodafone chief executive, Hemant Taneja, CEO of technology investor General Catalyst, and John Graham, who runs the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, one of the world’s largest pension plans, Sky News understands.

David Solomon, boss of the Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, will also be there.

The emergence of some of those attending comes as Labour battles suggestions that it will struggle to draw the 300 industry leaders it pledged in early August.

Sources said fewer than 150 companies had confirmed their bosses’ attendance, with just over three weeks until the event takes place.

Roughly 100 ministers, metro mayors, officials and other government-connected figures are also expected to be present.

One insider insisted this weekend that “quality is more important than quality” and said the government remained on track to have 300 people at the summit.

That figure may ultimately be reached but comprising both the government and private sector delegations.

They questioned, however, why a formal numerical target had been set publicly when the summit was being staged at such short notice.

“It’s made us a hostage to fortune,” said one.

The event, which Labour vowed during the general election campaign to hold within 100 days of coming to power, is being seen as a key test of its economic credibility.

Whitehall officials are keen to announce investment deals worth tens of billions of pounds on 14 October, although whether they will hit this target is unclear.

Some corporate bosses, including the heads of Blackstone and JP Morgan, have declined the invitation, citing diary commitments.

Those two companies are expected to send alternates to the event, with Blackstone being represented by Lionel Assant, one of its most senior private equity executives.

Until recently, the government had insisted that only CEOs would be able to attend, with their invitations not transferable, according to insiders.

Aviva, Barclays, BT Group and HSBC Holdings will be among the FTSE-100 companies represented by their CEOs.

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, told the Financial Times this weekend that details of the government’s industrial strategy would be set out before the investment summit.

That is expected to include the appointment of a chair for its Industrial Strategy Council, although it faces going into the event without an investment minister being appointed.

The summit will also be politically delicate given that it comes just a fortnight before Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, delivers her first Budget – with higher taxes affecting many of those attending on October 14 expected to feature prominently.

The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment, while none of the companies contacted by Sky News would comment.

Environment

Mitsubishi Fuso cleans up, putting 89 electric garbage trucks to work in Greece

Published

55 mins ago

September 21, 2024

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Mitsubishi Fuso cleans up, putting 89 electric garbage trucks to work in Greece

The Greek cities of Athens and Thessaloniki are popular tourist spots, and those tourists are about to breathe a little bit easier – literally! – thanks to nearly 90 new electric garbage trucks from Mitsubishi Fuso.

The Daimler-owned Mitsubishi Fuso brand has been making big moves since export of its newest electric eCanter medium duty truck kicked off earlier this year. First expanding to Hong Kong, and now taking orders in the EU.

“Thanks to its compact dimensions and high chassis load capacity, the electric Next Generation eCanter is ideal for waste disposal companies that drive on narrow roads,” says Florian Schulz, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services. “In addition, the vehicle is locally emission-free and quiet, so that garbage can be emptied early in the morning in densely populated areas. This makes it particularly suitable for municipal applications.”

One of the most important goals the cities’ governments had was to quiet down the garbage collection process. To that end, Greek body manufacturer KAOUSSIS has put a lot of development work into the upfit body to quiet the hydraulic and compaction actions. The company is calling its refuse body “the first of its kind,” creating a market advantage for the electric eCanter while meeting all EU technical regulations for operating waste disposal vehicles with standing personnel.

The hydraulic system employs proportional, electro-hydraulically operated directional valves that operate at a maximum pressure of 180 bar. KAOUSSIS says it’s specially designed for EVs, and is compatible with garbage bins between 80 and 390 liter (aka: really big) capacities. The lift also features a dynamic weighing system that records the weight of the waste with an accuracy of up to ±0.5 kg (about a pound).

“We have had a very close cooperation with KAOUSSIS for over 30 years,” says Antonios Evangeloulis, Director of Sales & Marketing of the Greek importer & general agent for Daimler truck products and services Star Automotive Hellas. “All the necessary tools, safety measures, technicians, training and certifications are in place and we are able to offer excellent after-sales support for these vehicles. Overall, it was an exciting project that we were able to realize together.”

Forty of the new electric refuse trucks are expected to be deployed by the end of November, with the balance expected to be delivered over the course of 2025.

Electrek’s Take

Mitsubishi Fuso eCanter; via Daimler Trucks.

Electrifying the commercial truck fleet is a key part of decarbonizing city truck fleets – not just here in the US, but around the world. I called the eCanter, “a great product for moving stuff around densely packed city streets,” and garbage is definitely “stuff.”

Here’s hoping we see more “right size” electric solutions like this one in small towns and tight urban environments stateside somewhat sooner than later.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Daimler Trucks, via Charged EVs.

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Politics

Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer ‘very sensible’ to accept football tickets worth thousands

Published

3 hours ago

September 21, 2024

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Lisa Nandy says Sir Keir Starmer 'very sensible' to accept football tickets worth thousands

Lisa Nandy has said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of football tickets was “very sensible”.

The minister for culture, media and sport also said she had never accepted free clothes from a donor.

Speaking to Sky News at the start of the Labour Party conference today, the MP for Wigan said: “The problem that has arisen since [Sir Keir] became leader of the opposition and then prime minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail, would be disruptive for other people and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

“So I think he’s taken a very sensible decision that’s not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it’s right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area.

“But I know that he’d much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he’s been going to the football with for years.”

Ms Nandy also said while she has not accepted free clothes – joking “I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes sadly” – she doesn’t “make any judgements about what other members of parliament do”.

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She said: “The only judgement I would make is if they’re breaking the rules, so they’re trying to hide what they’re doing. That’s when problems arise.

“Because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there’s been any undue influence.”

She asserted there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by senior Labour figures, adding: “We don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes.

“We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things. We don’t claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind.

“MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”

She added: “I don’t think there’s any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.

“We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.

“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”

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Sir Keir, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves said yesterday they will no longer accept donations in the future to pay for clothes.

The announcement followed criticism of Sir Keir’s gifts from donors, which included clothing worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485, according to the MPs’ register of interests.

The register shows Ms Rayner has accepted clothing donations to the value of £2,230.

Sky News also revealed the scale of Sir Keir’s donations this week as part of our Westminster Accounts investigation.

Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP – his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.