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1   bubblesitter   2011 May 27, 12:19am  

Obviously, the kind of job they are getting into after graduation some have quickly come to realize still how far we are into the bubble. Their job market and their views on housing could be one of the factors deciding the immediate direction of housing market.

2   FortWayne   2011 May 27, 12:28am  

It's understandable, I'm seeing that sentiment in our neighborhood too.

The only people who are guaranteed 30 year employment are basically old union workers. An average person out there isn't guaranteed a job tomorrow, much less in 30 years so obviously isn't going to take risks with housing at current price levels.

Young people are moving out to Los Angeles or El Segundo areas since there are no jobs out here locally. It is reasonable, we all had it coming as a nation. Fake housing bubble debt prosperity lasted for a while, eventually bills have to be paid when the party ends.

I'm also seeing an entire generation of those who lived out their 30's through the bubble and lost their "golden years" there, hence no longer can jump into the market. They basically got screwed. Eventually prices will come down to where that group can own, but it won't be for a few years IMO. There is still lots of denial, boomers haven't done too much downsizing yet, bubble isn't over yet either.

3   bubblesitter   2011 May 27, 12:48am  

ChrisLA says

Young people are moving out to Los Angeles or El Segundo areas since there are no jobs out here locally

I know two recent grads from my other half's family here in OC and are working outside of CA. Why do they have to stay away from family and let go the wonderful weather of CA? they need to have a good job to take advantage of warmth of family and weather. :)

4   Done!   2011 May 27, 1:06am  

ChrisLA says

I’m also seeing an entire generation of those who lived out their 30’s through the bubble and lost their “golden years” there, hence no longer can jump into the market. They basically got screwed. Eventually prices will come down to where that group can own, but it won’t be for a few years IMO. There is still lots of denial, boomers haven’t done too much downsizing yet, bubble isn’t over yet either.

HAR!!!

You mean like me, who sit out my entire 30's expecting the market to tank any day now. Only for it to do so, in my 40's when I've never been more marketable in my life, because the younger generation is so shiftless and lack gumption of the lowest order.

My Mom and Dad's generation, had to look over their shoulder when they turned 30 through 40, by 50 they were dinosaurs. As young Turks were always coming up the pike with better wilder fresh ideas.

Not today Buddy Boy, kids graduate then sit on their dicks waiting for companies to come courting them, just because they went to a community college.

If the young sees owning as risky, that just indicative of their career path. Graduate then belly aches because there wasn't a gauntlet of fortune 500 recruiting execs at the graduation reception to blow smoke up their ass, like their mom and dad did all of their life.

Keep believing that, I'm confident I wont even have to retire unless I truly want to. There's always the new batch coming up through High School now, they seem more hopeful than anything our Public schools have turned out in over 20 years.

5   bubblesitter   2011 May 27, 1:27am  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

McDeathco Toxiburgers

LOL.

6   Dan8267   2011 May 27, 1:47am  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

EXPORT EVERY LAST JOB TO CHINA and let Americans devolve into a bankrupted cannibal wasteland where food is free if you can kill your neighbor and eat him before he drops a bead on you!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Is that you, Glenn Beck?

7   FortWayne   2011 May 27, 1:54am  

Dan8267 says

Is that you, Glenn Beck?

Glenn Beck is not nearly as good as AF.

8   Dan8267   2011 May 27, 2:02am  

Tenouncetrout says

You mean like me, who sit out my entire 30’s expecting the market to tank any day now. Only for it to do so, in my 40’s when I’ve never been more marketable in my life, because the younger generation is so shiftless and lack gumption of the lowest order.

How ironic, a Gen-Xer calling Millennials lazy and unambitious. Um, don't you remember the Baby Boomers saying that about us Gen-Xers for like the entire 80s and 90s?

Maybe it's not a generational thing, but an age thing. Young adults have all the freedoms of adulthood, but few of the responsibilities. As such, they can have a really good time for a few years. I think some of us 30-somethings feel a bit jealous because we miss those times or, at least, wish we could relive them and correct a few mistakes.

I don't think the Millennials are any more lazy than any other generations -- I remember Boomers calling my generation lazy while I was working 90-hour weeks coding -- but I am concern that they are too easily distracted by shinning things like IPods and ring tones. I'm afraid that they could be much more easily manipulated by big business.

9   seaside   2011 May 27, 2:05am  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

McDeathco Toxiburgers

I was about go there for lunch, cuz I think I can allow myself some fat today and I do have a coupon. Now... damn, what to eat?

10   corntrollio   2011 May 27, 6:10am  

Dan8267 says

How ironic, a Gen-Xer calling Millennials lazy and unambitious. Um, don’t you remember the Baby Boomers saying that about us Gen-Xers for like the entire 80s and 90s?

Boomer parents spent so much time telling Millennials how special they were that they don't understand that you actually have to work to get things. They feel entitled to good things because they are special rather than because they earned them. Meanwhile Boomers got a 25-year boom during their peak earning periods.

11   edvard2   2011 May 27, 6:58am  

Well... All I know is that when I graduated in 2000 the dot-com thing had started to deflate, there was zero work for recent grads, and me and most of the other people I graduated with had no other choices but to do crappy jobs for a few years until things got better. By the time some of us were making halfway decent wages, the housing bubble inflated- thus we got screwed over by a 2nd bubble.

Its not an age thing. Its luck of the draw and more to do with when you were born. I get a feeling that things for my generation are going to increasingly suck from here on out.

12   junkmail   2011 May 27, 7:20am  

http://patrick.net/?p=545652#comment-725481

I said just this back in March...

13   thomas.wong1986   2011 May 27, 7:33am  

Dan8267 says

I don’t think the Millennials are any more lazy than any other generations — I remember Boomers calling my generation lazy while I was working 90-hour weeks coding — but I am concern that they are too easily distracted by shinning things like IPods and ring tones. I’m afraid that they could be much more easily manipulated by big business.

Already passed that point with all the hype marketing and branding. Big spenders for big label goods.
Hook line and sinker.

14   corntrollio   2011 May 27, 8:18am  

thomas.wong1986 says

Big spenders for big label goods.

You could say that about Boomer yuppies and probably Gen-X Bobos too. That's probably not unique to Millennials.

15   FortWayne   2011 May 29, 2:58pm  

Tenouncetrout says

Not today Buddy Boy, kids graduate then sit on their dicks waiting for companies to come courting them, just because they went to a community college.

I really think that has to do with liberal upbringing. Can't spank kids, can't smack them, can't discipline them, can't yell at them. From day one they only hear "Yes", never a "No" from their parents.

No wonder so many grow up not ready for this world, just entitled.

16   Hysteresis   2011 May 29, 3:13pm  

younger americans have
1. high tuition debt
2. lower paying jobs
3. high house prices

take 1 and 2, and not wanting to own a house due to high prices(3) will be the natural outcome.
or to simplify: 1+2 = 3

17   Danaseb   2011 May 30, 2:33am  

All I know is the only people who own their homes from my generation either live in undesirable areas, or inherited their home from grandparents too old to have bucketed out all the equity to the banks like their dumb fuck boomer children did.

18   Bap33   2011 Jun 1, 8:37am  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

People in their 50s and 60s could buy a house and a vacation home working for the goddman gas company. With benefits. With enough of a base pay to throw the kids in college a little help with tuition.
And, let’s not forget!
They got out of fucking work at 2 PM, earlier if the company knew you were important to the park league baseball team and you had to get in some practice before the big game with the guys from the telephone company.
Now, after being bought, leveraged and resold 26x, the only people who get hired for these gigs are contractors with station wagons from Brazil who work during the day and by night tend bar and try to flip condos with other sorry bastards on the weekends.

19   MisdemeanorRebel   2011 Jun 1, 12:26pm  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

People in their 50s and 60s could buy a house and a vacation home working for the goddman gas company. With benefits. With enough of a base pay to throw the kids in college a little help with tuition.

And, let’s not forget!

They got out of fucking work at 2 PM, earlier if the company knew you were important to the park league baseball team and you had to get in some practice before the big game with the guys from the telephone company.

Now, after being bought, leveraged and resold 26x, the only people who get hired for these gigs are contractors with station wagons from Brazil who work during the day and by night tend bar and try to flip condos with other sorry bastards on the weekends.

(((( ---- POST OF THE YEAR.

I'd add a decade, and say 60s and 70s. These are the same age groups you see at tea party rallies, whinging that corporations are forced to compensate their employees too much these days. Then they go to Red Lobster to spend their early retirement 2/3 last salary + COLA guaranteed pensions as former HS dropout-cum-mail room assistant supervisors and leave a 10% tip to the Server who has a Master's Degree in Biochemistry. Then they go to vote down an increase in property taxes while bemoaning the state of US public education.

20   FortWayne   2011 Jun 1, 1:24pm  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

People in their 50s and 60s could buy a house and a vacation home working for the goddman gas company. With benefits. With enough of a base pay to throw the kids in college a little help with tuition.

And, let’s not forget!

They got out of fucking work at 2 PM, earlier if the company knew you were important to the park league baseball team and you had to get in some practice before the big game with the guys from the telephone company.

Now, after being bought, leveraged and resold 26x, the only people who get hired for these gigs are contractors with station wagons from Brazil who work during the day and by night tend bar and try to flip condos with other sorry bastards on the weekends.

It wasn't that rosy. Life, especially housing, was a lot cheaper back than, a lot cheaper. I remember in the 70's one could deliver pizza part time and afford to rent a townhouse. But poor still existed, it wasn't all rosy.

21   Dan8267   2011 Jun 1, 3:00pm  

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

people weren’t expected to work until 10 PM every single night to pay down the mortgage

Heck, us people in the software industry work till 10 pm or even after midnight and at most places don't even get paid for overtime! I miss the 90's.

22   MillennialFalcon   2011 Jun 1, 4:43pm  

AFuck's cool. All you old grumps can eat my shorts. JK =)

Seriously, I chose my handle b/c I see this housing thing as a generational battle. Boomers banked on us financing their retirement. Too bad we're inheriting an economy fueled by consumerism, cheap oil, and debt. Looks like we've got our work cut out for us! Wage inflation? Long term job stability? Who cares about your granite counter?

Junkmail: Your post is a good take, but I would say that the urban/suburban luxury vibe still meshes with my generation. The price correction will finally settle somewhere. On the other hand, the exurbs are fucked.

23   terriDeaner   2011 Jun 1, 5:05pm  

edvard2 says

Its not an age thing. Its luck of the draw and more to do with when you were born.

It's not so much the luck of the draw when the system was rigged by the fuckers who were born before you.

edvard2 says

I get a feeling that things for my generation are going to increasingly suck from here on out.

Duh.

Dan8267 says

Heck, us people in the software industry work till 10 pm or even after midnight and at most places don’t even get paid for overtime!

Go back to fucking coding on your own time if you miss being a cog after 10 pm so damn much. Problem solved.

Dan8267 says

I miss the 90’s.

Me too. Because there seemed to be a lot more of...

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

more, a lot more, live music and more live sports, cheaper and more localized

Instead of:

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

work until 10 PM every single night

24   clambo   2011 Jun 1, 6:54pm  

I'll tell you about the guys I know who are well off and 50-something. MOST made no money and then got into government jobs of various kinds. This savedthem financially. Some guys became doctors and lawyers, and some became prison guards, firemen, etc. A few worked for large, successful companies and they were rewarded.
But also, lots of them divorced and are not so well off financially, it's interesting my lawyer schoolmate is pretty wealthy but he told me he works a lot more to pay for his first wives ;)
The guy who seems to me one of the happiest was a prison guard at San Quentin. He sold his place in Berkeley at a good price, so he's traveling and enjoying life in an RV. He had not two dimes to rub together before he got into that job at the Q and in his thirties already.
Working has almost always sucked for everyone unless you are a self-employed professional, e.g. doctor, lawyer, etc. These have their own risks, but you can arrange to have no boss and make a lot (or a little sometimes).
I also have not mentioned that there are women and guys I know who are dead and this happened in their 50's also.
My point is the situation sucked in the 70's and 80's for a lot of people. They gave up their dreams later to work for government jobs, some ending up divorced or dead.

25   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2011 Jun 1, 9:11pm  

These two sentences sum it up.

"But what we've learned over the past few years is that many people simply are not ready to own a home."

"A growing number of Americans can't afford a home or don't want to own one"

+1 to edvard2 and MyPunanyIsBiggerThanYourPunany

Most people I know 35 and younger got out of college with significant student loan debt.

Back in 2000 if you had $100k debt at 6% spread out over 15 years.... that's almost $850 a month.

Granted loan terms are longer and rates are lower. But in the end a $ you spend on loan repayment is a $ you cannot spend elsewhere. PLUS student loan debt is like superglue - even bankruptcy cannot get rid of it (generally speaking).

Plus even the best paying entry level jobs are still just that... entry level. So salaries are lower. Laziness doesn't help, but even the hardest working young person has a steeper hill to climb than their parents did with respect to home-onwership.

Even here on patrick.net a certain portion of us simply aren't ready [from a financial standpoint] to own a house

26   mdovell   2011 Jun 1, 9:47pm  

But do people really need a house? Most people in the country live in urban areas. Why would someone hire a person that lives in a house if they know that a position could require travel? If a business expands and someone cannot travel then they can be left behind. There's plenty of old mills in the northeast that used to run 100 years ago but they moved down south..then to other areas.

Even the largest tax incentive programs won't last as long as a 30 year mortgage.

The biggest things people can buy would be a house, an education and a car. If you live in a city you don't need a car. If someone already has a education and lives in a city well..then it's done. This article should expand to how many simply aren't having kids. One school system in Mass already closed due to a lack of students to make it worth it.

27   bubblesitter   2011 Jun 1, 11:42pm  

Dan8267 says

APOCALYPSEFUCK says

people weren’t expected to work until 10 PM every single night to pay down the mortgage

Heck, us people in the software industry work till 10 pm or even after midnight and at most places don’t even get paid for overtime! I miss the 90’s.

Haha, then only doctors and like people can only payoff?

28   FortWayne   2011 Jun 2, 12:57am  

edvard2 says

I get a feeling that things for my generation are going to increasingly suck from here on out.

I think thats the way the system works. Government just keeps on pushing more debt onto your and other future generations. You probably won't even get social security by the time you are ready to retire, this is of course to cover existing pension liabilities.

29   bubblesitter   2011 Jun 2, 2:37am  

ChrisLA says

I think thats the way the system works

That system can fail. Current USA did not exist on the world political map before 500 years.

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