Everyone needs a shelter. Although many people are content renting or living in apartments, many would prefer to own their own house. Many families in America own houses, but over 750,000 people are homeless. As the American population grows, owning a home gets harder due to the limited land available for housing. Having a shelter is a basic necessity for every human life, but owning a house isn’t as simple a to achieve as other needs, like buying food from the supermarket.

   To many, high school seems too early to start planning to buy and own a house, but it is always better to prepare. Although most, if not all, high school students are looking to own a house, not all of them have a clear plan. WO Sr. Nathan McCoy and Jr. Jonah Santos both agreed they want to buy a house in the future. However, McCoy was unsure about when he would make that purchase. “I have no idea; that’s so far away to think about right now,” he said. Santos said, “I would like to own a house within the next ten years of my life.” Deciding on the “perfect timing” to buy a house can be hard for high school students and adults alike. But buyers also need to also tackle the challenge of affording a house. Finance experts say housing payments should stay below 28-31% of yearly income of the household. This principle leads to the 2.5-3 x gross annual income formula for a standard 30-year mortgage term. McCoy stated he wants to spend, “Anywhere from 500,000 to 700,000. Houses are super expensive.” To buy a home he likes, he and a hypothetical spouse would need to earn a household income of at least $166,667 to $280,000 a year. Unfortunately, this is most likely not the data that McCoy expected, as he said, “I would want my salary to be over 100k.” Current median house prices are over $400,000; Santos and McCoy expect this number to continue rising. Santos said, “I think [house prices] will increase,” and McCoy said, “Everything is getting more expensive, so I don’t know why it would be different for houses.” High school students today seem unaware of why house prices are rising. When pressed about this question, McCoy laughed and said, “I don’t know, I’m not an economist.”

   Although high school students often don’t know why house prices in America are rising, it is not an impossible question to answer. WOHS Economics Instructor Mr. Mangan said, “Low interest rates are leading most homeowners to not wanting to sell [their house(s)] and get rid of that mortgage, which is part of the reason why we have a housing crisis right now. People aren’t selling, and there’s a low inventory, causing the prices to go up.” Many high school students see a house simply as a shelter. But Mangan has a different perspective. He believes homes are more valuable, saying, “Owning a home is a really good wealth builder; I think it’s a primary wealth builder for a lot of Americans.” Buying a house is difficult and a long process; Mangan expresses how it’s more than a place to live. Mangan is also “expecting the prices to be around $425,000 to $450,000 five years from now,” which is much higher than the “$225,000 for a good starter home” that Santos is expecting to spend on his future house. 

   The current housing market can seem scary for young adults wanting to buy homes. However, some insights might ease their worries. Mangan said, “Looking at the market today, we’ll likely see more stabilization in the next 12 to 18 months.” Maybe prices not going up so fast.” His prediction might not be perfect, but it offers hope to those worried about rising American housing prices. “I think one of the greatest things that my wife and I could do, if we were able to, we would buy more real estate now, to gift [their children]  and help them start their futures strong.”