More on housing.
Andre feels inclined to heckle a bit over my previous post.
He suggests that the real problem is that we won’t look at places that aren’t “cool”, that we want to get it all on a platter right away.
Not quite true.
It’s funny he should mention Boronia, as it’s one of the areas we’ve been looking at. It’s on the fringe of “acceptable commute time”, barely. It’s also on the fringe of “too expensive”.
He points out a house he’s found online. You’ll note that the price is $260k+, but it’s highly unlikely to sell for $260k, it’ll be more like $300k.
But let’s assume it does sell for the advertised price. That works out to be a bit over $2000/month on the loan repayment over 25 years. About 50% of my after-tax income, which is doable so long as my partner is also working.
But, y’know, like much of the country we’re planning to have kids. Which are expensive, not just in outgoings but also in terms of opportunity cost — my partner won’t be working for at least a few years.
$2000/month with only one income and the cost of kids? This is verging on “crushing” territory. The slightest hitch and we’re screwed. This includes any significant upward movement in the interest rate.
And all this assuming it does actually sell for the advertised price. Which is not terribly common in Melbourne right now.
So all this and 80 minutes each way commute. Hell of a lifestyle option, eh? Just because 90% of the population is in the same boat doesn’t make it any less fucked up.
This really isn’t about “cool” places to live. We’re just about at the point where we’re ready to give up on the inner-city as a place to rent let alone buy. I’m sure things are easier if one is militantly anti-child and making well over $100k/pa. Most of the country does not fit this description.
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