When Madelyn Driver and her husband started house-hunting, they thought they’d just a few benefits.
First, they have been in fairly good monetary form, Driver informed Enterprise Insider by way of e-mail. The 30-year-old makes over $100,000 working within the tech trade, in response to a doc seen by BI — and he or she stated her husband additionally has a six-figure revenue. After taking inventory of their funds, the couple determined to give attention to properties valued at not more than $700,000.
Second, they’d the flexibleness to seek for properties throughout the nation. That is as a result of, whereas they’re at present based mostly in Pennsylvania, Driver and her husband each work remotely. Whereas they’ve explored a number of areas, Driver stated Colorado, the Carolinas, and Virginia have been of specific curiosity.
Nonetheless, regardless of their revenue and geographic flexibility, the couple has continued to bump up towards affordability challenges.
“We’re discovering that even in an unlimited nation just like the US, housing choices that align with our wishes for inexperienced areas, a considerably metropolitan vibe, and cultural vibrancy are surprisingly out of funds,” Driver stated.
Driver is amongst a bunch of People with six-figure incomes who’re having bother assembly a few of their monetary targets. These individuals are typically referred to as HENRYs — or excessive earners, not wealthy but. Lately, as inflation has weighed on individuals’s funds, a $100,000-a-year wage hasn’t gone as far because it used to.
“I keep in mind pondering that incomes $100,000 felt like an unimaginable milestone,” Driver stated. “Now, my husband and I each exceed that quantity. But, we hardly really feel wealthy.”
The US housing market has confirmed significantly difficult for some millennials like Driver. Lately, excessive dwelling costs and elevated mortgage charges have propelled the price of homeownership within the US to near-record-high unaffordability ranges.
“If bills — particularly housing prices — have been extra affordable, I might really feel rather more financially safe and wealthy,” Driver stated.
To make certain, some high-earning millennials most likely suppose their incomes are fairly ample. Partly, this may very well be as a result of they’re among the many roughly 52% of millennials who owned a house as of 2022 — a lot of whom purchased properties earlier than the spike in dwelling costs and mortgage charges over the previous couple of years.
After all, for almost all of People who haven’t got a six-figure revenue — the typical annual full-time wage was about $84,000 as of March — affording a house is much more of a problem.
As of the primary quarter of 2024, the homeownership fee for US households with a household revenue beneath the median revenue was about 53%, in response to Census Bureau information. For households with a household revenue larger than or equal to the median revenue, the homeownership fee was about 79%.
Driver shared her homebuying technique and priorities — and what she and her husband plan to do if the housing market does not shift of their favor.
Avoiding being “house-poor” is a prime precedence
Driver and her husband have given their dwelling search a number of thought. When growing their dwelling funds, they agreed it was vital to not overextend themselves.
“Our incomes might assist a a lot larger housing worth, however we actually wish to keep away from being ‘house-poor‘ and trapped in the next month-to-month mortgage quantity,” she stated.
Moreover, they developed an inventory of the highest traits they have been in search of within the space surrounding their dwelling. Driver stated their ideally suited location would have a extremely educated inhabitants, variety, loads of inexperienced area, and milder climate than the Northeast.
To get a really feel for every space they have been contemplating, the couple determined that they wanted to “expertise it as locals.” Driver stated they stayed in long-term Airbnbs and pet-sat for prolonged durations to immerse themselves in numerous communities.
“This strategy actually has its logistical challenges, but it surely’s been important for us to see past the web searches and expertise what each day life would truly really feel like in a brand new metropolis,” Driver stated.
Going ahead, Driver stated they will not rush to purchase a house if they can not discover something that checks sufficient of their packing containers. In the event that they’re nonetheless looking out a 12 months from now, she stated they may reevaluate a few of their priorities.
“We can’t compromise on issues like a protected space and neighborhood, sq. footage, and property acreage,” she stated. “However, if we won’t discover the proper dwelling, we would be open to purchasing a cheaper home which may want extra severe work.”
Are you making over $100,000 a 12 months? Are you keen to share your story and the influence this revenue has had in your life? If that’s the case, contact this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.
