[wolfgke]

> The average sales price of a home in my county is $2,000,000

Why not buy a single apartment? Or buy and afterwards inhabit a house together with a small group of friends so that the amount of money is shared between the group?

[galdosdi]

Rent vs Buy definitely is geography-based. The number to compare against rent is mortgage - principal + expenses, and in some places that's much less than rent, in others it's similar, and in others it's much more.

In places where it's much more, buying is a bad idea (unless you're really committed to living there forever and are really committed to speculating that prices will only even go much higher there -- but that's taking on a huge risk, not decreasing it).

Remember, you can always just SAVE the money you would have put towards mortgage principal. Sure, with a mortgage after 30 years you have a house free and clear. But at the same price, a renter who saved the money that would have gone towards mortgage principal still ends up with a pile of money after 30 years -- a pile that is probably more diversified rather than being all in one single asset correlated to a single metro region's economy. I mean, who knows if the area I buy in will still be popular in 30 years?

[brianvan5155]

That IS for a single apartment

I'm married & the thought of doing a "house share" with other married couples seems very cramped up & a recipe for disputes. This is aside the fact that it's absurd that dual-working married couples would have to resort to this at all, it's a completely unacceptable arrangement for most couples in the US at this point. But nothing's off the table it seems

[wolfgke]

It's not uncommon in the more expensive German cities as Munich to do a flat sharing even after you finished your studies. You often did a flat sharing when you studied, so you often are already used to the situation. On the other hand living space is too expensive to be able to afford (even renting) if you don't have a really good paying job.

But perhaps this is a different mentality between US and Germany.

[brianvan5155]

Are you talking about married couples taking different bedrooms in one apartment? Or single individuals (not living as couples) taking different bedrooms in one apartment?

Yes, we do a lot of roommate shares here in the US; I lived in about 7 of them through my 20's. But I didn't live with my wife in a room share. I'm now married and I live with my wife, and we are effectively rent-sharers now.

It's still not enough to have a 20% cash savings rate, much of what would be saved as cash instead pays debt (mostly college debt + debt originating from emergencies/unemployment). But we almost certainly couldn't afford a local property of any type, save a studio apartment on the outskirts of the city, with a 20% savings rate over the next 5 years. And part of this has to do with down-payment financing arrangements nearly always losing out to deals paid in cash on-the-spot. (Indeed, there are people roaming the streets with certified checks from $800,000 - $2,000,000 who are viewing new-to-market properties daily)

[wolfgke]

> Are you talking about married couples taking different bedrooms in one apartment? Or single individuals (not living as couples) taking different bedrooms in one apartment?

I've seen both (OK, they were not married, but in a commited relationship), where of course the latter case is more common.