[mcbruiser3]

I love how some folks complain about paying rent as if they have no choices, as if they're somehow indentured servants or serfs beholden to the landed gentry or something.

The truth is you do have choices, even in tough times. Find a way to save money for a down payment and buy some property. Maybe even become a landlord yourself.

[khedoros1]

If you've got a way to save up some 10's of thousands of dollars for a down payment in a reasonable time, and be able to pay the mortgage for the loan, that doesn't sound like "tough times" to me.

I bought 7 years ago, when the market in my area was at its lowest. Saving for years, on an income significantly above median (for the area), I was just able to afford a down payment on a starter home.

Most people in my area make less than me, and the market has significantly picked up. My next door neighbor just sold their place, smaller and less upgraded than mine, for about 1.5x what I paid for mine. And the people that couldn't pay 2/3 that price 7 years ago should have just tried harder to save up to afford it now, right?

[underwoodley]

Sorry, the truth is that many people simply don't earn enough to save money for a down payment.

[francisofascii]

Well, people have to live somewhere. And it is fair to complain if you think the land holders who came before them are not paying enough property tax, which seems to have caused the housing prices to get so high. "Every proprietor owes to the community a ground rent for the land which he holds" - Thomas Paine